


deception

by notabledeeds



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Although more, Angst, Anxiety, Barista Ouma Kokichi, Crime Scenes, Detective Saihara Shuichi, Fluff, M/M, Rating May Change, Waiter Ouma Kokichi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:35:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 61,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25472503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notabledeeds/pseuds/notabledeeds
Summary: Kokichi turns back to their table after heaving an exaggerated sigh, apparently noticing Shuichi’s rather miserable situation since he starts giggling softly and lets the previous grin form on his face again.“Aw that surprised? Sorry Saihara-chan I must’ve not looked very nice last time you saw me... Just to have you know, that’s definitely not how I usually look!”[Saihara Shuichi meets the beaten up stranger he helped weeks ago in a dirty alley again as the cute waiter in a nearby cafe and the mystery around Ouma Kokichi only seems to grow...]
Relationships: Akamatsu Kaede & Saihara Shuichi, Harukawa Maki & Momota Kaito & Saihara Shuichi, Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi
Comments: 147
Kudos: 328





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Through all of this he still manages to ponder over how exactly he, Saihara Shuichi, had managed to get himself into this situation. What would’ve happened if he hadn’t shown up? And what had even occurred in the first place?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi i absolutely adore these dorks and since there aren’t enough fics of them out there imo i decided to write one myself yay

Shuichi sighs dramatically, shoving the stack of papers sitting in front of him to his right and grabbing his familiar green coffee mug. It’s completely cold by now (which he only realises after taking a sip) and pulls a grimace before downing the whole thing anyway. God knows he needs it. It’s nearing midnight and he still hasn’t managed to complete all tasks he promised himself to. Saito-san just shoots him a look from the desk in front of him before raising her voice.

“Look Saihara-san, I think we both know that your shift should be over by now so don’t you think it’s time for you to get going?”

Shuichi keeps himself from scoffing (after all it’s not like he’s the only one stuck in this situation) and locks eyes with her instead. It used to be something he had troubles with, scared of the looks people would shoot him for discovering their darkest secrets and revealing them for the world to see, but after solving a variety of cases he eventually got used to it (mostly). It was his job after all.

Though he hasn’t been at it for long he knows he’s good at what he’s doing. There’s a reason he’s been solving cases since his teens, even before he graduated and got his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. He honestly likes the place he’s working at at the moment, it’s not too big with around 12 employees, he likes most of them and honestly likes his job as well. The fact that he’s actually really good at it is only an added bonus.

Admittedly he likes his work once he doesn’t have a ton of overdue paperwork to fill out. He feels like the amount of reports has only doubled over the past days and he can already hear his boss complain about it.

Though he probably is the most skilled employee, that doesn’t give him free reign to neglect his paperwork. At least that’s what his boss always drills into their brains.

“Saito-san, I think we both know that I’m indeed not the only one with that problem hm?”

She chuckles before leaning back and raising her hands in mock surrender. “Fine fine! How about we both finish filling out the reports for one more case each and then we’ll head out?”

Shuichi can honestly consider himself lucky for Saito-san’s presence. The former isn’t that much older than Shuichi himself and thus started working at their workplace not that much earlier than him. He likes to seek her company whenever something’s bugging him regarding any cases or problems and she’s probably one of the most reliable people he knows. Whilst he wouldn’t necessarily consider them friends he does quite enjoy her presence and Shuichi admittedly doesn’t know what he’d do without her (he doesn’t want to imagine either).

Her desk is located in front of his and adorned with smaller potted plants which sadly seem to die rather fast (he wouldn’t admit that to her face though) and with a variety of bright orange stinky notes which contain all sorts of information (everybody knows not to touch any of them or they’ll feel Saito-san’s wrath).

Meanwhile Shuichi’s desk is admittedly rather plain. It’s mostly kept rather organised with his typical green coffee mug sitting in the corner and some framed photos of Kaede, Kaito, Maki and himself in the other corner. He likes his desk though, it’s all he needs and that’s all that matters to him.

Shuichi smiles at her and nods in approval. It’s not the outcome he anticipated but admittedly he is rather tired and just wants to flop down on his bed and sleep, at least until his alarm wakes him at 6am sharp plus the paperwork for only one case shouldn’t take too long, right?

-

It turns out that no, it does indeed take long if you’re missing some formulas and have to go on a whole search mission in order to find them. The grey clock on the wall to their right reads 1:24am and Saito-san had already left their small building nearly an hour ago, so the only light illuminating the room comes from his desk. Everyone else had already left the office around noon after all. Saito-san had obviously offered to help his rather messy search mission (cause that’s just the kind of person she is) but he’d turned her down with a tired smile and practically shoved her outside while repeating that she’d actually finished her paperwork and thus had no reason to remain in their office.

The clock strikes 2am by the time he’s finally finished and Shuichi feels like he’ll fall asleep any second now. He packs his things in a daze, switches off the light and locks the door to his work place, meanwhile thinking about fluffy pillows and blankets.

God he’s just so tired.

Shuichi proceeds to ask himself when the last time he’d gotten more than 4 hours of sleep was. Probably last week when Kaede had practically forced him to go to sleep earlier by showing up at his workplace and dragging him home while lecturing him on his sleeping habits the whole way. Yea that was probably it. 

Luckily his home isn’t located too far from his workplace so he should reach his destination in the next 18 minutes or so (13 if Kaede were with him). Honestly he can’t wait to just surrender to unconsciousness and sleep for the next decade (he wishes, but there’s still such a thing as eating, bills and the outside world).

Already half asleep he makes his way winding through the familiar streets and alleys which he has probably passed around a hundred times by now. Although there are a few bus lines next to his office he doesn’t actually make use of any of them since it would be rather unnecessary to drive 2-3 stops until he reaches his apartment. Sometimes a small part of him ends up regretting neglecting the public service though as his surroundings in the dark honestly do look rather spooky, but he’d never actually admit it that aloud. Sometimes Shuichi does catch himself quickening his pace whenever he reaches a corner the light of the street lamp doesn’t quite reach though.

At the moment he’s mostly thinking about his bed and sleep and how he really should work on his work sleep balance, when a loud thud makes him startle and stop dead in his tracks.

He waits for a few seconds in the dark of the night, listening to the faint roar of driving cars and sparing the streetlight a few feet away from him a skeptical glance, but nothing happens so he decides to raise his voice again. If nobody answers he’ll just go home. “H-Hello? Is there anyone?”

The only response he gets are some rather hushed curse words and he reels around to enter the previous alley he just passed. He has to remind himself that even though that hadn’t actually been a real reply it does count as one nonetheless and thus there might actually be someone in need of his help, perhaps it was just nothing after all? Thoughts and anxiety still manage to churn around in his head but he tries to blend them all out and make his way to the entrance as fast as possible instead. If someone actually needed his help he couldn’t just leave them.

The sight Shuichi is greeted with though lets even the last fibres of his body and mind startle wide awake and the detective struggles to stifle his rather embarrassing yelp.

In the dark and dirty alleyway there’s someone slumped over, leaning against the wall of a nearby brick building while breathing out rapidly and quietly spewing more curse words. The stranger probably hasn’t spotted Shuichi yet since they just keep rambling while clutching their stomach and not sparing him a glance. Shuichi stops walking. Are they hurt? Is this a trick? Was it a bad idea to turn around? What if this really is a trap to steal his money or worse; kill hi-

“I don’t have any money with me so if that’s what you want then sorry, can’t give it to you; it’s a lost cause.”

He startles again after hearing the stranger’s words and stands completely still for a mere second before finally mustering up enough courage to bring himself to move. Stumbling he reaches the other’s body while his thoughts scream at him for being so reckless. Instead he aims to ignore them and proceeds to crouch down next to the stranger whilst biting his lip in thought instead. Not shortly after Shuichi finally brings himself to ask, “Are you alright? Do you need any medical attention? Do you know who did this to you or-“

The stranger’s harsh and ragged laugh shuts him up abruptly before they finally raise their head to look at Shuichi’s face. Golden eyes are met with dull purple ones, so dark they could easily pass as black, only illuminated by the faint street light a few feet away from them. Some of the stranger’s dark hair is falling into his face, thus occupying their vision and their face looks dirty and roughed up. Shuichi can make out a bruise which seems to be blooming on the other’s left cheek bone as well. A gasp escapes Shuichi and he keeps himself from stumbling backwards and hitting the filthy floor of the alley they’re currently in.

He doesn’t know if this is worse than what he’d expected or not. What had his tired brain even expected in the first place? Nothing admittedly, the detective just being too tired to think of anything other than sleep really. There’s a reason he shouldn’t work this long, honestly.

It looks like the stranger is about to raise their voice again when a violent cough shakes their body and they end up spitting droplets of blood onto the floor. They lean their head against the wall while sighing in defeat and Shuichi decides to finally take action. Just staring at them wouldn’t do anything good after all.

He snakes his arm around the other’s waist wordlessly in order to help him up. To his surprise the other doesn’t utter a word which Shuichi takes as a good sign. Maybe they’re just too drained to respond? Or they’re just secretly grateful for the help? While the stranger’s right arm proceeds to hold their stomach they move their left arm to keep themselves upright by holding onto Shuichi’s shoulder. As he pulls both of them upright he realises how small the other actually is. Come to think of it, how old was the other anyway? While he hadn’t been able to see his face so far he doesn’t look much younger than Shuichi, so perhaps around he’s his age.

He takes a few steps forward and the stranger mimics his movements, a strained noise escaping them as he does so. Shuichi hopes the other’s wounds aren’t too fatal, it’s not like he was able to check and he doubts the other would willingly move his arm to let him see. (Not like he could muster up the courage to actually ask either, or actually do something with no medical supply nearby.) It’s weird but they don’t strike him as someone who’d do so easily and his tired brain can’t convince himself of being able to get the other to just move their arm and to reveal their possible wounds when asked to do so (and again, he’s actually a bit too scared to ask as well).

As they make their slow but steady way to the nearby police station, although maybe steady was a bit of an overstatement with the other nearly tripping a few times, Shuichi ponders over whether his action had actually been the right call to make. The stranger doesn’t seem to be hurt too badly, as they keep moving without any major difficulty, except for the occasional stumbling, so it’s probably safe to assume that it’s been the wisest decision after all, even though Shuichi can’t prevent the doubt from creeping back into his mind. Luckily the station isn’t located too far so they end up entering the brightly lit entrance area sooner than anticipated. Shuichi actually knows most of the precinct’s employees due to his job and though he admittedly hasn’t been working for long, he’d still managed to make the acquaintance of nearly every officer in the building, which he’s oddly proud of. They always struck him as friendly and helpful in the past so he’s feeling rather confident right now.

The first one to notice both of them is Tanaka-san, a middle aged man which seems rather grumpy but does a good job and has worked with Shuichi a bunch of times. After sending both of them a surprised look and Shuichi summarises the situation as briefly as possible he moves to the stranger’s other side and proceeds to guide them into a nearby office. (He doesn’t know if it’s just his tired mind playing tricks on him but he could’ve sworn he saw a slight frown under those messy hair strands when Shuichi had moved a bit to let Tanaka-san help.)

After leaving them alone for a few minutes which are spent in rather uncomfortable silence he returns with another officer who Shuichi identifies as Nakamura-san. She quickly greets Shuichi and proceeds to ask the stranger who was now seated on a plastic chair a bunch of questions. While Tanaka-san indulges in doing the same to Shuichi himself in a neighbouring room, he feels his mind drifting off a bunch of times. Everything feels like a haze to the detective but he still tries to answer all questions as well and detailed as possible. He’s just so tired and while this all is rather... unusual and anxiety inducing he does really want to see his bed right now.

During the whole questioning Shuichi catches bits of the strangers information as the neighbouring door is wide open and he can make out parts of their conversation; apparently the stranger is male, 23 years old, just as Shuichi, but unemployed and enrolled into a university he’s never even heard of. He can’t quite catch his full name but notes that half of the other’s name is Kokichi (part of the reason he’s not processing every bit of information is most likely due to the fact that it’s nearing 3am).

Tanaka-san seems to notice Shuichi’s increasingly miserable state as he shoots the detective a pitiful smile before finally releasing him once he’s filled out some formulas (he doesn’t even process what exactly he’s filling out but figures he can trust them). Although Shuichi is admittedly still worried about the stranger’s well-being the other assures him he’ll be alright and just proceeds to convince Shuichi to go home already.

So eventually he makes his way through the narrow hallway, past the other’s room and spares one last glance inside. Neither of them seem to notice him though so he just continues striving towards the exit.

Shuichi finally ends up doing just as Tanaka-san had suggested and wearily leaves the brightly lit precinct.

-

The clock reads 3:35 once he’s finally lying in bed and he recalls all the events that had occurred. Was the stranger alright? What had even happened to him? The other hadn’t uttered a word on their way to the station and only the other’s rough and wretched laugh and sharp, spiteful question kept ringing in Shuichi’s head. He decides to just drown everything out in order to gain at least some sleep before his alarm clock causes him misery once again. God he’s just so tired.

Through all of this he still manages to ponder over how exactly he, Saihara Shuichi, had managed to get himself into this situation though. What would’ve happened if he hadn’t shown up? And what had even occurred in the first place? Though the stranger allegedly called ‘Kokichi’ hadn’t seemed too roughed up he had carried some wounds after all and his behaviour had seemed rather unusual too...

Shuichi should honestly just tell the detective in him to shut up and get some sleep instead. He’ll need it again sooner than he’d like to admit.

So he eventually manages to fall asleep while once again recalling the stranger’s dull purple eyes and the paperwork he didn’t manage to finish, something he could worry about in a few hours instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have the next few chapters written already but idk when i’ll upload them yet <3


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As soon as the other is in closer proximity Shuichi immediately averts his eyes in order to fiddle with the end of a brown napkin on their table, his heart rate beginning to pick up the moment the guy comes to a stop right next to them. Out of the corner of his eye he can see Kaede lowering her arm, already opening her mouth to speak when the waiter’s voice suddenly interrupts her.
> 
> “Oh my, now if it isn’t Saihara-chan! It’s been so long since I’ve seen my saviour!”

“Okay look at me. Shuichi! Hey!”

Shuichi pulls himself out of his thoughts and blinks a few times before looking at a rather confused looking Kaede sitting in front of him.

She’s frowning slightly, wearing a high ponytail which makes her look rather serious (especially when she gives him that _look_ ) but her stern appeal is ruined rather quickly by her pastel pink sweater adorned with black musical notes with faces on them (it looks kind of cute he has to admit). Kaede has a menu in one hand but her eyes are completely fixed on Shuichi and he can tell that she’s growing annoyed. He really should stop zoning out...

Shuichi tries shooting her an apologetic smile, humming in question to which she just sighs in response and proceeds to roll her eyes. Then she leans towards him a bit, her eyes suddenly glinting in that weird mischievous way, letting Shuichi know she’s probably got something on her mind and the detective shrinks back a bit automatically. “Come on don’t give me that. Don’t think I didn’t notice you staring at that waiter over there the whole time. You haven’t stopped sparing him glances since we got here,” she basically sings and Shuichi silently hates himself for being so obvious.

It’s not like she doesn’t have a point, but Shuichi himself doesn’t really know the reason as to why his gaze keeps drifting to the small purple haired waiter currently bouncing through the cafe next to them. It can’t really be the fact that he seems particularly attractive or anything of the sort, with Shuichi only having only seen the other’s backside so far. Still there’s something about him that seems... familiar of sorts, something that keeps causing his gaze to drift towards the other. Shuichi can’t really place it, has basically been racking his brain ever since they got here and apparently his best friend sitting right in front of him had noticed as well. _Great_.

Since Shuichi hasn’t provided her with an answer yet (how in the world was he supposed to explain his weird issue without her pressing him with questions) she just lets herself fall backwards into her chair, closing her eyes for a second. There’s already an apology and promise to stop getting distracted on his lips when her eyes suddenly snap open again, a rather creepy smile making its way on her face.

Shuichi knows that _this_ definitely can’t mean anything good for him.

“You know if there’s something so interesting about that waiter why don’t we just place our order right now?” she asks innocently but Shuichi can definitely notice the teasing lilt in it.

“Kaede no-“

But before he can actually convince her to shut up she starts waving her arm in the air with more vigour than necessary, calling out to the small waiter on the other side of the room. That’s right, _the other side of the room_ whilst an increasing amount of customers starts sparing her disapproving glances. It’s not like she seems to care though (to Shuichi’s growing misery).

Obviously he doesn’t notice her immediately since the cafe they’re currently seated in is quite big, but the blonde behind the counter in the middle of the room notices Kaede’s calls and raises her voice. She turns to the side, basically yelling her next words. “Hey tiny slut this chick over there-“

The waiter reels around in response.

“Who are you calling a slut when you’re obviously the biggest cum dumpste-“

He stops dead in his tracks when he sees Kaede’s frantic waving and Shuichi decides that he should’ve just stayed at home today. 

A grin makes its way on the waiter’s face and he starts walking, no _bouncing_ towards them and Shuichi just wants to crawl into a hole and never come out. Why the hell do things like these always happen to him-

As soon as the other is in closer proximity Shuichi immediately averts his eyes in order to fiddle with the end of a brown napkin on their table, his heart rate beginning to pick up the moment the guy comes to a stop right next to them. Out of the corner of his eye he can see Kaede lowering her arm, already opening her mouth to speak when the waiter’s voice suddenly interrupts her.

“Oh my, now if it isn’t Saihara-chan! It’s been so long since I’ve seen my saviour!”

_ Wait what? _

Shuichi’s head snaps up in the direction of the waiter’s face and he swears he can hear his breathing stop.

Shuichi’s staring into a pair of the most intensely purple coloured eyes he’s ever seen. They’re faintly reminding him of amethysts (a sappy thought, really) but with a glint of something in them he can’t quite place. While the rest of the waiter’s face looks a bit boyish due to his large eyes, clear skin and the smirk on his face he can’t deny the fact that he’s honestly really... pretty. A few strands of dark hair frame his face while the rest of his hair is pulled back in a loose ponytail. He’s wearing a purple sweater underneath the shop’s apron and has one of his hands on his hip. The detective’s thoughts reel to a sudden stop though when he finally recalls and properly processes the other’s words.

“You know my name?” he asks, sounding so pathetically stumped.

Something akin to confusion flitters over the waiter’s face momentarily before the previous grin spreads over his face again, so fast Shuichi would’ve probably missed it if he’d blinked for even a split second.

“Aw Saihara-chan doesn’t remember me? You know that kind of hurts, I thought I made such a striking impression!” he basically whines, already  starting to pout and Shuichi begins growing even more confused. He’s supposed to remember him? But how-

His growing confusion must’ve become obvious to the other as he eventually just ends up sighing, wordlessly pointing at his name tag.

“...Kiibo?”

Now it’s the waiters turn to look confused as he stares down at said tag before bursting into a fit of giggles. “Oh I must’ve _accidentally_ swapped mine and Kiiboy’s name tag!”

Something about that gives Shuchi the impression that it wasn’t very accidental at all. The waiter eventually stops giggling though and fixates his eyes on Shuichi’s face once again, the detective swearing he can basically feel the other analysing him behind those pretty violet eyes.

“Anywayy, my actual name is-“

“Ouma Kokichi shut your ugly ass up and stop flirting with the customer, you’re supposed to take orders!” the blonde from earlier shouts, sudden  realisation dawning Shuichi almost immediately at the words and he has to grab the table in support.

“Shut the hell up bitch and go wash your filthy mouth, you smell like horse shit!”

Kokichi turns back to their table after heaving an exaggerated sigh, apparently noticing Shuichi’s rather miserable situation since he starts giggling softly and lets the previous grin form on his face again.

“Aw that surprised? Sorry Saihara-chan I must’ve not looked very nice last time you saw me... Just to have you know, that’s definitely not how I usually look!”

Surprised would probably be an understatement. Though the encounter had occured nearly a month ago at this point the stranger named Kokichi hadn’t left Shuichi’s mind properly ever since. He’d even visited the police station he’d brought him to once but they had just let him know that they’d discharged the stranger shortly after Shuichi left, since he hadn’t shown any interest in pressing charges against the alleged thief that stole his wallet and roughed him up a bit.

Something about that had seemed off to Shuichi, why would a pocket thief target a dark isolated alley at 3am and more importantly, why had Kokichi been with him when the main street had been right next to them? If it really had just been a rather harmless pocket thief why had they gone through all that struggle and taken the risk? It had just seemed suspicious to Shuichi at the time but he’d shut his mouth and thanked the officers who were present. He’d tried not to let his thoughts wander to the former too much and had admittedly been kind of successful, that was until the person in question just miraculously showed up in front of him.

He’s honestly at a loss for words and racks his brain for something to say when Kaede speaks up and Shuichi immediately thanks her internally.

”Wait you two know eachother? Is that why you’ve been staring at him the whole time Shuichi?” she asks, and Shuichi already regrets the previous thoughts, maybe he shouldn’t have thanked her after all.

“Saihara-chan was looking at me, how lovely, I definitely didn’t notice,” the other chirps in an awfully cheerful manner and a part of Shuichi tells him that that was quite obviously _another_ lie but he decides to keep that to himself. Instead he clears his throat quietly before raising his voice. “Y-Yea I helped him a few weeks ago. He’d been mugged by some pocket thief.”

Her eyes widen in response since she obviously hadn’t anticipated that kind of explanation for their mysterious acquaintance but Ouma-kun just raises his voice again before she has the chance to reply. “Well! I don’t have too much time to chatter, you know, work and all. Sooo how about you two just tell me your orders before Miu decides to get nasty?”

Kaede looks as if that’s actually the last thing she wants to do in their current situation, which is quite ironic considering that she’d actually called him over to their table for mainly that reason. Nevertheless she ends up shaking her head slightly before ordering a caffè mocha with whipped cream.

As soon as she stops talking Ouma-kun whirls around to face him and Shuichi just ends up being at a loss for words once again. How could the beaten down stranger from merely a few weeks ago possibly be the same person standing right in front of him? It just didn’t add up- Sure he hadn’t clearly seen the other’s face all those days ago but there surely should be at least some resemblance? Instead it’s as if someone else completely is here, standing right in front of him. Speaking of...

“Uh I’ll just have a black coffee.” It ends up sounding more than a question and the  moment Ouma-kun starts pouting again while offering him a rather disappointed look Shuichi _knows_ he’d just made a fatal mistake.

The waiter huffs before replying with a “Saihara-chan is so bland, you know what, I’ll just get you something else instead and if you don’t like it you’ll get your boring coffee and your money back.” And before  Shuichi has the chance to reply the former grins at him, blowing the detective a small kiss before spinning around again to bounce (what was up with that??) to the other side of the room to probably take someone else’s order.

Shuichi can’t help but gape at him, which is until a finger shuts his mouth for him and turns his head to face his best friend. Kaede looks at him with such a serious expression it causes Shuichi to start fumbling for an apology almost immediately when she suddenly bursts into laughter.

“Oh my god you should’ve seen your face! That was absolutely hilarious, honestly you two should just start dating already!”  _What. _

“What?” he asks, or rather wheezes, at her.

“Come on you can’t tell me you don’t find him attractive, you’ve been practically ogling him ever since we got here!”  Shuichi just sputters in response, feeling his cheeks warm up at the statement before quietly replying, “I-I’ve done no such thing he just-“

To his absolute horror his best friend just continues rambling, efficiently ignoring the detective completely. “So you do find him attractive though? Not gonna lie he does look quite adorable and he’s so small! I just wanna squish his cheeks and-“

“Okay okay shut up yes he is attractive but that doesn’t mean-“

“You find me attractive that’s so sweet, makes me go all mushy and soft and all!” _Oh of course._ Yes he definitely should’ve stayed at home. That’s _exactly_ why Shuichi tends to just not leave his sacred walls.

As Kaede starts giggling quietly Shuichi buries his face in his hands, already feeling his entire face heat up even more (god he’s an adult he shouldn’t be acting like this). Luckily Ouma-kun doesn’t say anything regarding Shuichi’s pitiful state though, instead proceeding to put down their drinks on the table in front of them which Shuichi can determine by the tiny sound the mugs make.

He starts raising his head slowly though when he hears the scraping of a pen against paper and widens his eyes as he takes in the scenery in front of him. 

Kaede is currently writing something- no, _his number_ on a piece of paper while Ouma-kun is draped over her shoulder, watching her scribble with way too much interest. As soon as she’s finished she hands him the pen along with the piece of paper, smiling smugly at him which the waiter just reciprocates with something akin to surprise on his face. Shuichi opens his mouth to retort at least _something_ regarding their current situation but no words seem to leave him as Ouma-kun just winks at Shuichi before practically singing, “Enjoy your drink Saihara-chan!” and leaving them once again.

Kaede just stifles another giggle after looking at Shuichi’s face and then at his drink. Right, _that_ still exists. He braces himself for the worst as he looks down at the mess of a drink in front of him.

It’s honestly even worse than anticipated.

It’s clear that the drink is supposed to resemble some kind of cafe latte as he can see the brown substance of espresso floating around the bottom and the steamed milk and foam piling on top of it. In addition to that there’s something light brown and ...purple(??) swirling inside his drink. There’s whipped cream in both white and purple (again?? He’s never even seen purple whipped cream in his life before) piled on top of the foam, decorated with glittering purple sprinkles, little white hearts and a striped straw at the side which once again, is coloured purple and blue.

He can’t keep himself from letting the words “Holy shit” escape his mouth which only make Kaede giggle even louder. As he keeps staring at this ... _something,_ her laughter eventually subsides and she starts sipping at her drink.

“You know you should at least try your drink,” she says.

“I’m not sure this even qualifies as a drink, there’s more whipped cream than anything else.”

She giggles slightly before asking, “Why do I feel like that’s the goal?”

The detective just ends up shaking his head before moving his head to sip at his ‘drink’. He’s surprised to realise that it actually tastes quite nice. Sure it’s sweeter than his usual drinks but it’s... nice. He can taste the light flavour of caramel syrup and the foam is admittedly pretty nice too-

Shuichi only realises he’s nearly consumed the whole thing when Kaede’s voice interrupts him. “Hey hey don’t drink the whole thing without letting me try! That’s unfair considering I even had to coax you into trying it!”

They both know he would’ve eventually tried it either way, even without Kaede’s encouragement but he just wordlessly slides the drink towards her while raising an eyebrow in question. She just grins at him before trying the drink herself “That’s actually quite good! Too bad I didn’t get one.”

He just blushes at the reminder while she slides the drink back towards him and takes another sip. “ So... are you finally going to tell me why we’re here?”

The whole reason they’re both seated in the cafe Shuichi had suggested was Kaede after all. The detective had planned to use this weekend to catch up on some sleep, it’s been a rather busy and long week after all, but the pianist’s call at 7am sharp had sent him tumbling out of bed and now here they were. When asked for a location he’d just sent her the address of a nearby cafe he’d visited a few times in the past. He hadn’t really been visiting lately due to the perfectly well functioning cafe machine at his work place but he’d remembered that the shop had a rather nice interior and drinks and food to serve.

Kaede had seemed rather excited which stopped Shuichi from nearly yelling at her (it was 7am. On a Saturday. And Shuichi is definitely _not_ a morning person) and telling her to leave him be. So instead he’d taken a quick shower before packing his things to meet his best friend at 9am at the location he’d provided. When greeting her outside she still hadn’t caved in to answering his questions as to what the hell had happened, had proceeded to drag him inside instead and now here they were.

“Yes-yes I will! First off; you seriously can’t be mad at me for dragging you out of bed at this point considering that I’ve like totally secured you a date.”  Shuichi just rolls his eyes.

“Sure whatever, now tell me!” He can’t keep the growing anticipation out of his voice, he was rather curious at this point  “Alright soo,” she begins drumming her index fingers against the table in front of her whilst creating a small pause, “Ikindofgottheopportunitytoplayatthesuntoryhall.”

“Excuse me what?”

“I got the opportunity to play at the Suntory Hall!” she exclaims cheerfully and Shuichi can’t prevent a smile from spreading. “Oh wow Kaede that’s amazing!”

He was honestly ecstatic, he knew his best friend was incredibly talented and to see her hard work pay off definitely made Shuichi more than happy.  “Do you already know when and which pieces you’re going to play?” he asks, already going through the calendar pinned on the wall in his apartment internally.

“Hm no not yet but I’ll definitely reserve a ticket for you, I already promised Rantaro he’d get one but I bet I’ll manage to reserve two!” she cheers while pumping a fist in the air. Shuichi just continues to smile at her. “That’s great, I haven’t seen him in a while so that would honestly be really nice.”

Though Amami-kun is Kaede’s boyfriend Shuichi hasn’t seen him a lot so far, probably due to his busy job (if only he knew what exactly his job was) but he did seem open and friendly every time Shuichi had seen him and he did quite like the other.  Kaede smiles at him as they proceed to talk about seemingly everything that comes to mind and if Shuichi’s gaze travels to a certain waiter more than once Kaede makes sure not to mention it.

It’s only when Shuichi’s straw makes a loud slurping noise that the purple haired waiter shows up at their table once again as if he’d been standing nearby and waited for this specific moment. “Wow, you really drank everything, not going go to lie; I’m secretly impressed _and_ proud! See, it’s much more appealing than your nasty black coffee as well!”

Shuichi lifts one arm to nervously rub at his neck and averts his gaze while mumbling something akin to an approval. Ouma-kun doesn’t seem to mind though as he just shoots them a grin and begins collecting their mugs. Before the smaller boy can turn around and leave, Kaede starts pulling out her wallet but Ouma-kun’s loud and bubbly laugh stops her  “Please Akamatsu-chan neither of you has to pay, it’s on the house. Since you’ve managed to bring me and my saviour back together and all.”

Before either of them can protest and ask him how he even knew her name the smaller boy skims away whilst singing something that sounds ridiculously out of tune. Kaede looks at him oddly before shrugging her shoulders and shooting him a blinding smile. “Alright then let’s go shall we?” Shuichi just nods in approval and pulls on his trench coat before following her outside. It’s actually sunny for once despite the colder temperatures and he has to admit that it’s honestly really pleasant.

Before Kaede and him part ways she reminds him of sleeping more and working less to which Shuichi just retorts with his usual response that he can’t promise her anything. Kaede just laughs and hits him in the side playfully before hugging him and descending the stairs to the metro.

While Shuichi makes his way back home and past the coffee shop they’d just visited he can’t help but let his mind wander to a certain purple eyed waiter.

There’s something odd about Ouma Kokichi and Shuichi will find out what exactly that is. He’s a detective after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mentioned that i love ouma in a ponytail? also my last year of school starts next week i don’t wannaa


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Well you’re my saviour right?,” he puts a finger on his lips and cocks his head in question. “So why shouldn’t I be jealous?”
> 
> “But that makes no sense... You didn’t even bother to text me for two weeks.”
> 
> The shorter male’s eyes light up as if he’d just won the lottery and he starts leaning towards Shuichi even more. “So you’re sad that I didn’t?”

Nearly two weeks had passed since his and Kaede’s cafe visit and though Shuichi would never actually admit it to anyone he’s honestly rather disappointed that he indeed hasn’t received a single message or call from a certain waiter so far. Especially since his suspicions regarding the former hadn’t been lifted, rather quite the opposite. Ever since he’d seen Ouma Kokichi in the cafe close to his home there’d been something nagging at him and as soon as Shuichi had shut his apartment door behind him he’d realised what; the other was allegedly unemployed.

Now of course the reasoning for the other stating his unemployment weeks prior could’ve been that it had simply been the truth. Maybe he’d been employed at the cafe shortly after? There’d been about a month between that night and his visit to the cafe after all. But the familiarity and confidence Ouma-kun had shown towards the shop’s employees and visitors gave him the feeling that he couldn’t’ve been employed for merely a few weeks. On top of that the cafe was rather popular and Shuichi was pretty sure that they weren’t understaffed or anything of that sort, Ouma-kun had also proceeded to offer Shuichi his very own drink which definitely hadn’t been on the menu (he’d checked twice since leaving the cafe). So Shuichi had managed to reach one conclusion: the other had been lying.

Apparently he’d also been lying about the name of the University he’d given the officer asking him questions. Even back then the name of the University Ouma-kun had provided hadn’t struck a chord with Shuichi and after browsing through Tokyo’s Universities he hadn’t managed to find a single one sounding even remotely similar to the name he’d given.

It’s been two weeks since Shuichi had reached the conclusion that Ouma-kun hadn’t been lying once but twice and it left him with a bad feeling. The whole situation in the alley had already seemed suspicious enough but now that his suspicions had partly been proven correctly... he just had to do something, his skin basically itched to do _something_. So he’d waited. The smaller boy had seemed genuinely surprised about seeing the detective at the cafe and Shuichi had to admit that he’d been acting rather... flirtatious towards him. Kaede had left the other with his number so it would’ve only been logical to assume that the other would contact him sooner or later.

Well, he hadn’t.

It’s been nearly two weeks and Shuichi hadn’t received one single message from the man in question. Alright, maybe he was more disappointed than he’d like to admit but surely that was just due to the fact that he couldn’t confirm his suspicions and answer his questions regarding the former. Nothing else, definitely nothing else instead.

Shuichi had even managed to visit the cafe twice since then, but the only person he’d seen both times had been an employee named Kiibo. Both times Shuichi had made sure not to ask about Ouma-kun, just grabbing his coffee to head back outside again. The whole situation was weird. And it probably annoyed him more than it should.

“Saihara-san you’ve been sighing more than usual today and your stack of paperwork isn’t event that high.”

Shuichi nearly startles as Saito-san’s voice pulls him out of his rather depressing thoughts. He spares her a wary glance from his desk to which she just raises an eyebrow in question. Great, even she had noticed. “I- uh it’s really nothing...” He definitely doesn’t sound convincing, he’s never really managed to cover up his frustrations in the past either so it’s really no surprise. But perhaps she’d believe him anyway?

She just keeps staring at him though, causing Shuichi to nearly lose it. Was he really _that_ obvious? Why was this whole situation affecting him that much anyway? It really shouldn’t, he didn’t even know Ouma-kun...

“Fine. I’ll let the fact that you _obviously_ don’t want to tell me about what’s bothering you slide _if_ ,” she raises a finger and narrows her eyes, “you come and grab some coffee with me. You haven’t had your lunch break yet have you?” Shuichi nearly exhales in relief. Coffee didn’t sound too bad, he had to admit and if he didn’t have to share his issue with her that way... “Alright. Sure.” She just smiles brightly at him and starts gathering her things.

-

In hindsight he should’ve probably paid more attention during their walk, instead he’d been lost in his own thoughts once more and hadn’t really taken any of his surroundings into account. He might’ve not been too surprised by the fact that they’d stopped in front of a certain cafe then.

Shuichi nearly chokes on his spit as he sees the familiar interior of the shop.

“I don’t know if you’ve been here before but it’s quite nice so let’s go inside shall we?” He just nods dumbly, opening the door to the cafe with a slight smile in her direction. If she sees the slight tremble of his hands she doesn’t mention it. To be honest with himself he doesn’t even know why _exactly_ he’s so anxious. Ouma-kun will likely not even be present so there’s no need to fuss over the possibility, plus even if he were, wasn’t that what he wanted?

Alright, perhaps it really wasn’t. Shuichi wouldn’t even know what to say or how to approach the other. The last few times Shuichi had visited the cafe he’d been at least a bit prepared (for what exactly he doesn’t know) but hadn’t ended up seeing the waiter either of those times so perhaps the other doesn’t even work at the cafe that frequently?

While Shuichi is lost in thought again they manage to sit down at a small table to the left. Saito-san is smiling at him, already starting to ramble about her favourite drinks and cafes in the city and though he feels rather bad about it he can’t help but zone out as she keeps talking. He just hopes the encouraging smile he shoots her will prevent her from becoming suspicious. Before she can notice his divided attention though someone’s hand slams onto the table, causing her to stop rambling and simultaneously pulls Shuichi out of his thoughts.

“Welcome, what can I do for you?” Shuichi drags his gaze over to the purple haired waiter next to their table, immediately feeling his eyes widen at the sight. Though Ouma-kun just looks at Saito-san across from him he can clearly see an obvious fake grin split the waiter’s face. He doesn’t even bother to hide it or to look in Shuichi’s direction. The other detective doesn’t seem to notice though as she just smiles at him before placing her order. “I’d like to order an iced coffee!”

Shuichi coughs awkwardly, trying to redirect the other’s attention before replying. “I’ll um have the sa-“

Before he can finish his sentence though, the waiter interrupts him while _still_ not looking in his direction. It’s frustrating honestly. “Great! Let me get that for you real quick!”

Shuichi can’t help but stare after him as he begins to turn around and leave. What had just happened? Had he even noticed his presence? He must have, right? Then why had he reacted so weirdly and completely ignored Shuichi? Had he unconsciously done something wrong? But Shuichi hadn’t even noticed him when walking inside...

“So your boyfriend is the jealous type hm?” Shuichi chokes on his spit at the question, coughing a few times before regaining his composure, but his voice still manages to leave him sounding weird and rough. “Excuse me what? He’s not-“

But Saito-san merely shoots him a knowing smirk which Shuichi does not like at _all_ and cuts him off before he can finish his sentence. “Saihara-san I’m a detective. You think I can’t put two and two together? The way you keep checking your phone, seem rather gloomy, your reaction to the cafe and the whole situation just now,” she chuckles quietly before continuing, “it’ll probably be for the best if I just leave you two alone for now, you wanted to order the same thing as I anyway, right? I’ll just let our boss know that your break might take a bit longer than usual.”

She winks at him, shooting him an encouraging smile before grabbing her things and walking outside. As the door swings closed behind her Shuichi can’t help but stare after her wordlessly. _What-_

A loud sigh from his left. “Hm so your date left? Guess you won’t be needing this anymore then!” Shuichi whirls around at Ouma-kun’s voice, instinctively grabbing his wrist before the other has the chance to leave again. His eyes widen slightly for a split second before relaxing and a familiar smirk forms on his face again. “Aw does Saihara-chan really like me tha-“

“Ouma-kun what was that?” The question leaves him sounding more agitated than expected, but it’s true that he _was_ rather annoyed at the other. Ouma-kun just looks at him with a puzzled expression though before raising a finger to his lips in question. “Huh? You tell me! She’s your date after all!”

Shuichi just rolls his eyes. “Don’t act so oblivious you quite obviously had a problem just now.”

“Hm... no I didn’t! Don’t lie to me Saihara-chan, I hate lies. Might just start crying, you know?” Panic overtakes him as he can see tears filling Ouma-kun’s eyes and he releases his wrist in a hurry. Immediately the tears vanish and the other starts laughing. “Just messing with you! Although that was kind of rude you know.”

Shuichi’s honestly at a loss for what to do. He can’t figure the other out at all and the detective can feel a headache forming already. He admittedly hasn’t had enough sleep the past few days which is partly due to the person standing right next to him and he’s clearly had enough. Shuichi stands up rather abruptly, making a move to pull out his wallet to at least pay for the drink and then leave as fast as possible when a soft hand on top of his own stops him.

He looks at the purple eyed waiter who still seems as cheerful as before but... something looks off. “My shift ends at 5, not like you’re required to know but I’m telling you anyway, also you don’t have to pay.” After basically singing said words he spins around and leaves, Shuichi just ending up staring in the direction he’d left in.

What- Did the other feel bad? No, surely that can’t be it but... He _had_ told Shuichi the time he’d get off his shift, even if the way he’d said it had been rather weird. Shuichi just closes his eyes for a few seconds and inwardly counts to ten before leaving the money on the table anyway and making his way outside, trying not to think about everything that had just transpired.

-

As he re-enters their office, sitting down on his chair, Saito-san just ends up shooting him a frown. He decides not to respond in any way, just buries his head under his arms on the tabletop. Yup, that’s the way to go. “He told me that his shift ends at 5.”

There’s a pause before she finally asks, “Will you go?”

That’s the thing, he really doesn’t know. Despite vowing to completely neglect the previous conversation he’d ended up contemplating it on the entire way back. Still, he hasn’t managed to reach a conclusion yet. He knows he probably shouldn’t, though he’s only encountered the smaller male three times so far he knows the other basically means trouble. God, he doesn’t even know if Ouma-kun is just toying around with him. He knows it’s a rather weird thought but he surely must’ve known or even wished for Shuichi to figure out his lies all those weeks ago? If he hadn’t intended for Shuichi to notice he surely wouldn’t have reminded him in the cafe. But then why not text him back? Why act so... weirdly and then lie to his face but then tell Shuichi when his shift ended? It just didn’t make sense. Nothing about Ouma Kokichi made any sense at all.

“I think you should go.” Shuichi’s head snaps up at her words. “I mean... it’s obvious that there was something amiss and he’s willing to talk to you about it, right? So I think you should go, you’ll just regret it if you don’t.” She admittedly has a point. The purple eyed waiter had been occupying his mind ever since their first visit and he’d practically given Shuichi an invitation to talk. As long as it wasn’t a prank.

“Fine. I think I’ll go then.” His colleague offers him a smile.

“By the way, where’s the drink?”

Shuichi just starts spluttering as he realises he’d totally forgotten to bring the drink with him in hall his confusion and anger but she just laughs at him before offering to make coffee for the both of them instead. He accepts gratefully before getting back to work, all those formulas wouldn’t complete themselves on their own after all. 

-

As soon as the clock strikes 4:50pm Saito-san all but shoves him outside, threatening to add salt to Shuichi’s drink the next time if he even thinks about being late. It’s 5:02pm when he checks his watch in front of the cafe.

There’s no sight of anyone in front of the building and he starts contemplating whether to go inside or keep waiting outside. Shuichi settles for the later and sits down on a park bench next to the shop, it’s admittedly a bit cold outside but he manages.

It doesn’t take long for the doors to swing open and for a purple haired waiter to stumble outside while holding his checkered scarf close to his chest, wearing a black jacket which honestly seems too big on him, black ripped jeans and purple trainers. His hair is a violet mess, wavy and partly falling into his face as he turns around after closing the doors behind him. As soon as his eyes fix on Shuichi he freezes for a split second before practically skipping over to him and flopping down on the park bench next to him.

He grins up at Shuichi and the taller boy is once again at a loss for words.

In the cafe earlier he didn’t really get the chance to look at the other properly but now, as he’s sitting right next to him, he has a clear view of his face. Ouma-kun’s purple eyes practically sparkle at him and a wavy lock of purple hair falls into his face as he stares up at him. His cheeks are slightly red and his lips look really soft and-

The other suddenly pokes at his cheek. Shuichi startles and Ouma-kun’s soft laughter fills the air between them “You know, you shouldn’t daydream that much! Can be dangerous and stuff.” Shuichi starts fumbling for words. “I-I wasn’t-“

“Sure you weren’t! Now tell me, why are we here?” Why were they here?! Didn’t Ouma-kun basically invite him here Shuichi feel his brows furrow as confusion seems to hit him again, this would go just the way it did last time wouldn't it... “Didn’t you-“

“Just messing with you, of course I know why we’re here! I gave you a time after all didn’t I?” He turns his head to grin up at him, his eyes slightly narrowed as he asks said question. “Y-Yeah you did...” God what was up with his stuttering, he hasn’t been tripping over his words since high school-

“Now my beloved detective, tell me about what we’re doing next!” Shuichi hums slightly at the question, thinking about his answer before replying. “Well I thought we could... talk? I mean,” he inhales slowly, “you were kind of acting weird earlier.”

The other just raises an eyebrow in question as if confused about what Shuichi was even talking about before grinning at him and putting his arms behind his head. “Hm, probably yes. Seemed a bit weird didn’t it? It was actually just ‘cause I didn’t like the shirt you were wearing.”

Shuichi feels his brows furrow in confusion. “Wait what- That’s another lie, isn’t it?”

“Ding ding ding! Wow, you’re getting really good at this Saihara-chan! Well since you caught me I guess I’ll have to tell you the truth,” he pulls up his knees and starts fiddling with a strand of hair absentmindedly, “hm I guess you could consider myself... jealous maybe? Is that how you’d call it?”

“J-Jealous?” Alright, that definitely hadn’t been an answer he’d anticipated. The other had been _jealous?_ Ouma-kun just sighs before replying though. “That’s what I said isn’t it? Perhaps you should clean your ears more often.”

“But Ouma-kun that- that makes no sense. Why would you be jealous? Saito-san is just a colleague of mine and even if she weren’t, why would you care?” The other exhales dramatically as if this whole situation was incredibly tiring to him, before putting his legs back down and leaning towards Shuichi while fixing him with a small grin.

“Well you’re my saviour right?,” he puts a finger on his lips and cocks his head in question. “So why _shouldn’t_ I be jealous?”

“But that makes no sense... You didn’t even bother to text me for two weeks.”

The shorter male’s eyes light up as if he’d just won the lottery and he starts leaning towards Shuichi even more. “So you’re sad that I didn’t?” A blush makes its way on Shuichi’s face and he decides to lean back and fiddle with the ends of his scarf. “I-I guess? I don’t really know, you’re just confusing me.”

Ouma-kun laughs and it actually sounds... weirdly genuine for once. Shuichi kind of likes the sound. “But you did visit the cafe twice since then, probably looking for me right?” Shuichi’s eyes widen before he ends up locking them with the waiter’s own, who is definitely still _way_ too close for his liking.

“I was just getting a drink!” Ouma-kun laughs again and even though the reason behind it is rather embarrassing he can’t help but think that the sound of it is honestly really... nice.

“Fine, whatever you say,” he gets up from the bench and holds out a hand in front of Shuichi’s face, “then let’s go walk you home or something? Unless Saihara-chan is living on the other side of the city of course, I’d probably only do that if you were to carry me.”

He gets up rather hastily and inwardly curses himself because of it but grabs the other’s smaller hand offered to him. Ouma-kun just grins at him, starting to swing their linked hands around while heading in one direction. Shuichi is definitely too perplexed by the whole situation to respond but ends up stopping dead in his tracks after realising something.

“Uh Ouma-kun that’s the wrong direction-“ The other pouts at him before huffing and spinning around rather aprubtly. “Couldn’t you have said so earlier?”

“I-I’m sorry-”

Ouma-kun’s pout morphs into a grin. “You’re adorable, don’t worry about it Saihara-chan!” He just blushes as they continue their walk to his apartment.

During their little journey they actually end up asking each other a bunch of questions and Shuichi learns that the smaller male doesn’t really have any fixed working hours nor has he been working at the cafe for too long. Shuichi doesn’t pry for the exact time as it would likely seem suspicious and he doesn’t want to scare the other off either, he’ll just ask another time. Shuichi ends up telling Ouma-kun about his job while the other nods and asks additional questions. The waiter honestly does seem interested which makes the conversation shift more towards Shuichi as he takes his time answering the other’s questions as detailed as possible.

Eventually they end up coming to a stop in front of his apartment complex earlier than expected, had time really passed that quickly? Before he can say anything to the other, Ouma-kun rips his hand away and starts bouncing away while calling a cheerful goodbye towards Shuichi.

“Ouma-kun wait!”

The other stops and turns around slowly before cocking his head in question. “Uhm a-are you going to text me?”

A grin. “Hmmm no.”

“What? Really?” He knows how desperate and needy he probably sounds right now but he can’t bring himself to care, he really did enjoy the time spent with the other. Eventually Ouma-kun sighs and narrows his eyes at him. “Fine, only if you pay for dinner though.”

“Wait so that’s a yes?”

“No it’s a lie- Of course it’s a yes Saihara-chan but make sure to pick a nice restaurant or I might just end up killing you.” He laughs cheerfully while walking away and Shuichi ends up rolling his eyes fondly, kind of odd considering the other had just threatened to kill him.

After everything Ouma Kokichi was still a mystery to figure out.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Saito-san seems to understand what he’s referring to as her eyes start to trace the sketches and evidence scattered out on the table in front of them once again.
> 
> Just another crime he wouldn’t be able to solve. Or maybe he would, but he doubted it. Nobody has ever managed to and he’d given up around a year ago, the mastermind behind all of it was just too fast, too smart and always a step ahead of Shuichi.
> 
> He’d nearly gained some kind of twisted respect from the detective, at least until the killing had started around half a year ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fyi i know it’s unlikely for PIs to solve homicide cases & that all of the crime solving happening is probably kiiind of unrealistic but hey this is all fiction, i’m not an expert and this was never supposed to be a real mystery novel anyway so pls try to not think about it too much <\3

**[18:32] *unknown number*:** hi hi saihara-chan  
 **[18:33] Saihara Shuichi:** Ouma-kun?  
 **[18:33] *unknown number*** : no it’s your biggest nightmare !!!!!!  
 **[18:33] *unkown number*:** so you better grab a kitchen knife to defend yourself i’m right in front of your window!!!!!!!  
 **[18:34] Saihara Shuichi:** Uh you do know that i’m living on the 6th floor right?  
 **[18:34] Ouma Kokichi:** saihara-chan you cant just tell everyone that!! what if i really am a dangerous assassin coming to kill you smh  
 **[18:34] Saihara Shuichi:** Why do I doubt that you are?  
 **[18:35] Ouma Kokichi:** alright fine i was lying i’m obviously the incredibly charming ouma kokichi that works at your favourite cafe!  
 **[18:35] Saihara Shuichi:** How do you know what my favourite cafe is?  
 **[18:35] Ouma Kokichi:** *gasp* it’s not???? saihara-chan how dare you deceive me like this! you can’t see but i’m totally crying right now because of you....  
 **[18:36] Saihara Shuichi:** ...  
 **[18:36] Ouma Kokichi:** i am!!  
 **[18:36] Saihara Shuichi:** ....  
 **[18:36] Ouma Kokichi:** soooo many tears:,(  
 **[18:38] Ouma Kokichi:** alright i’m not, you’re no fun

Shuichi just rolls his eyes for about the tenth time before throwing his phone on his bed and heading to the kitchen. He hasn’t had lunch yet and since his shift ended earlier than expected he has time to actually make himself something to eat for once. So he opens his sparsely filled fridge, mentally cursing himself for not paying the grocery store a visit in seemingly ages. Despite the lack of food he still manages to heat up some leftover rice and fries some vegetables and eggs to go with it. He’s actually quite pleased with the result and sits down to consume his meal when he makes out the faint ring of his phone coming from the hallway.

Sighing he gets up and proceeds to answer the phone without bothering to look at the caller.

“Yo Shuichi you haven’t forgotten our plans with Harumaki tomorrow have you?”

Kaito’s voice basically booms from the speaker and Shuichi ends up cringing slightly before replying.

“Uh no don’t worry Kaito I haven’t, 6pm and you’re going to send me the address right?”

There’s a sigh on the other end and Shuichi can basically hear the other rolling his eyes at him. “Bro I totally just did! Anyway I gotta go now, Harumaki just told me to make sure you haven’t forgotten so uh yea bye!”

Before Shuichi can respond the line goes silent and he decides to return to his food before it gets cold. Weird and especially short phone calls definitely weren’t anything unusual, considering having known one of his best friends for a few years at this point and all. Though his best friend can be rather annoying Shuichi is honestly glad to finally hang out with him and Maki again. Their not all too regular weekly meetings have been rather sparse in the past, with him being too consumed with his work to really have enough free time and rushed meetings, squeezed in between his shifts definitely wasn’t something the detective strived for.

As he sits back down at his kitchen table he can hear the faint buzz of his phone, moving slightly as it keeps buzzing on the wooden surface next to him. Probably just Kaito or something. Still he ends up grabbing the device while continuing to eat, unlocking his phone while muching on some bits of fried egg. As expected Shuichi ends up finding the address Kaito had sent him and more than nine unread messages from no one other than Ouma-kun (unsurprisingly). The detective clicks on the chat, already rolling his eyes fondly as he begins to read.

 **[18:39] Ouma Kokichi:** fine i’m lying ok you’re not that bad  
 **[18:40] Ouma Kokichi:** oh no are you upset now?  
 **[18:43] Ouma Kokichi:** saihara-chaaaaaan  
 **[18:44] Ouma Kokichi:** are you cheating on me?  
 **[18:44] Ouma Kokichi:** ugh how mean :(  
 **[18:52] Ouma Kokichi:** i’ll never make you my super special drink ever again!!!  
 **[18:55] Ouma Kokichi:** saihara-chan did you get murdered????  
 **[18:56] Ouma Kokichi:** i told you to grab a kitchen knife!!!!!!  
 **[18:59] Ouma Kokichi:** you should listen to the great ouma kokichi more often that’s just evidence for it!  
 **[19:08] Ouma Kokichi:** pls don’t die ur so sexy aha  
 **[19:09] Saihara Shuichi:** What  
 **[19:09] Ouma Kokichi:** uh that was miu  
 **[19:09] Saihara Shuichi:** Why do I strongly doubt that  
 **[19:10] Ouma Kokichi:** fine it wasn’t but i was lying anyway soo  
 **[19:10] Saihara Shuichi:** Okay?

He really doesn’t know what else to say so he just ends up shutting off his phone. While placing his now empty bowl inside the dishwasher though, Shuichi can’t help but ponder over the exchange he just had, or more precisely, the person he had it with. At first the other wouldn’t text him at all. For two weeks. And now he basically won’t stop sending Shuichi messages about well, nothing really. He genuinely feels as if his questions regarding the former are only increasing the closer he gets to him, not declining as he was initially expecting. Shuichi decides to just stop thinking about the waiter for now and to work on a few cases he hasn’t been able to solve yet instead. The detective feels bad about leaving earlier today anyway.

Taking his phone with him he makes his way to his little office, his thoughts definitely not straying to a certain waiter as he does so.

-

The first thing Shuichi notices when startling awake is that he isn’t in his bed, or anything akin to a bed really. Shuichi can’t quite make out his surroundings since it’s pitch dark around him but he can tell that his neck hurts immensely and that he... fell asleep on top of his desk? Yeah that must be it. So he gets up hastily, turning on his phone lying next to him to make out his surroundings a bit better and indeed, he’d fallen asleep in his office on top of his desk.

Shuichi sighs loudly before getting up to make his way over to the neighbouring bedroom. He doesn’t even bother to check the time, he’s too tired and just wants the fluffy sheets of his bed to engulf him right now. So instead he flops down on his bed, proceeding to fall asleep as soon as his head hits the fluffy pillow.

(The reason as to why he even startled awake doesn’t cross his mind.)

-

When his alarm breaks him out of his peaceful slumber at 6 in the morning Shuichi silently declares that he does indeed hate everything and everyone, why couldn’t he just be a morning person like seemingly everyone else around him?

Still half asleep Shuichi enters the bathroom in order to shower quickly, brushing his teeth lazily and eventually pulling on some clean clothes. Shuichi faintly remembers falling asleep at his desk and ponders for a second about whether that had actually occurred or was just a product of his imagination but the soreness of his neck prevents him from taking that thought any further. Huh. Guess he’d fallen asleep at his desk after all. He proceeds to groggily realise that his phone doesn’t have any battery left as he’d forgotten to charge it the previous night but since the detective really doesn’t have any time left he just stuffs his charger and device inside his messenger bag and heads to work.

His mind is still a jumbled mess once he arrives at the familiar office but his boss’ declaration of him and Saito-san being tasked to investigate a homicide makes him startle awake rather quickly. (Those tasks were kind of rare after all.)

The air around them is tense as they head to the murder scene and Shuichi can’t help but let his mind wander. He hasn’t been outside investigating for a few days now and he’d honestly missed it, but being confronted with such a serious case right away? Unusual, but he knows he’s good at solving them so he decides to stop himself from worrying any further. The detective next to him is practically buzzing, perhaps cause she actually has more knowledge regarding the case than he does but it’s not like he’d asked a lot of questions involving the homicide so far. He figures he’ll find out at the crime scene anyway.

And so he just keeps his gaze fixated on the speeding by cars outside, trying to get rid of the last bits of sleep still clinging to him.

-

Right he was though. As soon as they step onto the underground parking lot linked to a rather expensive casino, a short man dressed in a police uniform fills them in on any information him and his team have managed to gather so far. Apparently the estimated time of death was around 4am and the body had been discovered by a visitor of the casino shortly after 5am, since the level they were currently on tended to be rather empty, as it was the deepest one in the parking lot. Of course the customer had immediately called for aid and the rest was history.

The victim was a man in his late 50s and CEO of a big family business with a rather negative reputation and an immense amount of scandals. The cause of death was a stab wound located on his back going straight through the heart caused by the murder weapon, a knife, which had been found along with the body. Apparently the killer hadn’t even bothered to conceal the murder or the case of death.

Shuichi crouches down next to the body, removing the sheet of plastic concealing the person below. The victim was lying down on the floor face down, his beige jacket drenched in blood. The wound seems to be the only one the victim carries but Shuichi decides to make sure for himself anyway. He’s been informed that an autopsy hasn’t been performed yet but they will, once the investigation of the scene has been carried through.

As Shuichi inspects the victim’s body he eventually pulls up the sleeves of the other’s jacket with his gloved hands. The sight he’s greeted with is honestly something he’d been expecting: Faint bruises along the sides of his arms, reaching up until the clothing concealed the rest from view. He takes a step back and takes a look at his surroundings before walking over to one of the officers present with them. “The security cameras have been destroyed?”

The officer nods curtly. “Yes they have, though we’re not sure whether that actually made an impact.”

Shuichi ends up cocking his head in question at the former. “What do you mean?”

“Well, apparently the cameras would’ve still been able to record even with the excessive damage they’ve taken. We’re still checking with the workers of the casino but they haven’t provided us with a clear statement yet. On top of that some officers have made it their priority to secure and search the room for any evidence first.” Alright, he guesses that made sense. Perhaps investigating on their own for now would be the most logical thing to do for now.

“We’ll go upstairs and check ourselves then if that’s no problem.”

After his plan was approved with a nod Shuichi shoots Saito-san a sign before they decide to ride the elevator up to the top floor in order to enter the facility. 

Eventually the elevator doors open to reveal the small but well kept space in front of the casino. It’s honestly nothing special but you could tell it belongs to a rather luxurious business.

After walking along a short path they end up at a small roundabout in front of the building with a fountain in the middle.

As soon as they open the huge glass doors in order to step inside the facility’s lobby they’re greeted with the sight of multiple officers and workers. The huge walls of the casino are lined with dark red fabric with small golden patters embroidered into them and the huge chandeliers attached to the ceiling nearly cause the detective to roll his eyes. It was all just... too much.

Apparently most people present had been informed with their presence already since they just step aside wordlessly to let them pass. Some police officers even stop to greet the both of them as they see them passing by as well.

After talking to a few of them they eventually manage to reach the door of the room in which the screens connected to the surveillance cameras are allegedly stored in. The wooden door has been taped so Shuichi assumes someone must’ve been inside already.

As soon as he opens the door the person inside turns around and Shuichi can make out a deep frown occupying the woman’s face. The detective can already assume what that means.

“The footage has been taken?”

“Yes, it seems to be gone. There’s nothing else missing, just the footage for this morning from 3:40-4:40am. We don’t know how exactly they managed to obtain the footage yet, as there’s nothing damaged so they could’ve either hacked into our system or taken the footage manually.”

“Hasn’t there been someone investigating this room already?”

“Yes, the whole room has been searched for traces but there seem to be no fingerprints or anything of the sort. So either the footage has been obtained digitally after all or the person was extremely careful and thus a professional.”

Shuichi just hums silently before deciding to take a closer look at the room around them. Most places have been secured with tape or plastic sheets but even then he can tell that nothing major seems to be amiss.

As soon as they head back outside someone fills them in on the condition of the facility which seems to be indifferent, no damage, just the body in the parking lot and the missing footage of all surveillance cameras.

So they end up driving to their office sooner than expected, waiting for the information regarding the autopsy they’d be provided with during the next hour.

-

Time passes rather quickly as they’re filling it with evaluating and pondering over the different pictures of the crime scene they’d been supplied with and sketching out different possibilities.

Shuichi keeps brooding over his familiar green cup of coffee as everything seems to come together somehow, he doesn’t like the conclusion he’s reaching at the moment though. He just sighs to himself and decides to wait for the information regarding the autopsy before drawing any conclusions.

While Shuichi takes another sip the door opens and another officer enters their office. They don’t stay for long and just provide them with a detailed report containing all the information regarding the victim’s autopsy.

After reading through the various papers Shuichi exhales loudly and leans back in his chair.

“I‘m assuming your theories are thus proven correctly?”

He just hums before gathering a few photographs and making his way towards her.

It seems so obvious it’s nearly painful; the short time period the murder took place in, the missing footage, no clear traces of the culprit, the (too) clear and single stab wound on the victims back, the specific bruises on the entire body caused by applying pressure to the victim’s skin...

“I’ve pondered over the possibility ever since we first started investigating the crime scene and now I can say for certain; the murder was not performed by one person individually but multiple ones working together, but my theory as to who could be responsible might not be the preferred conclusion.

”The bruising on the victims arms, which were caused by others and not any restraints, indicate that they must’ve been held down which explains why the wound is so clear. The entire time frame is just... too narrow as well, it wouldn’t be possible for one person to pull all this off and to be at multiple places at once. I could go on but...”

Shuichi likes his job, he honestly does. He knows he’s good at what he’s doing and he does feel a certain thrill whenever he manages to reach the reasoning and conclusion behind every unsolved case.

The reason why he started taking a disliking to working on cases though, especially violent ones recently, was a rather infamous, mysterious organisation working mainly in the shadows. The property crimes the group used to execute were rather harmless in comparison to their previous ones; thieving and the destruction of property used to be the usual crimes committed.

Then things started to quiet down.

There were still rather mysterious and untraceable occurrences such as the sudden drop in a company’s income or the sudden exposure of certain information and scandals regarding companies or CEOs but the previous thieving and destroying had nearly come to a stop, though the crimes were still committed with 2-3 weeks time in between, just as always.

Eventually around half a year ago the property crimes suddenly started once again, this time even more violent than before and even partly transitioning to personal ones instead. Murder and property damage around the city, always targeting the rather wealthy part of Tokyo.

Of course in none one of these anyone had actually ever been able to be captured or held accountable. It was rather a mystery and phantom than nothing else.

Still most officers and detectives knew about the organisation which had managed to gain quite the reputation. Everyone knew that it was like something straight out of a mystery novel but everything just made so much sense that way. The way the group acted without ever leaving any traces, how they only targeted the rich and wealthy, the time intervals which had admittedly become shorter recently... even their crimes used to be the same until around six months ago when there’d been a surprising change, and the murder at the casino’s parking lot fit their current repertoire perfectly.

Saito-san seems to understand what he’s referring to as her eyes start to trace the sketches and evidence scattered out on the table in front of them once again.

Just another crime he wouldn’t be able to solve. Or maybe he would, but he doubted it. Nobody has ever managed to and he’d given up around a year ago, the mastermind behind all of it was just too fast, too smart and always a step ahead of Shuichi.

He’d nearly gained some kind of twisted respect from the detective, at least until the killing had started around half a year ago.

Shuichi feels as if the mastermind (or masterminds) behind the organisation has gotten sloppier as well, but even then he decided to stay true to his promise and had declined looking into the cases any further once he’d managed to figure out that the most likely culprit was the previous organisation.

The detective just didn’t want to be involved in those cases anymore. He doubts he could even manage to solve them if he tried and he’d promised himself to rather focus on cases he’d actually be able to solve.

Shuichi nearly exhales in relief at the familiar jingle of his phone from across the room, plugged into a socket next to his desk. He shoots the detective an apologetic smile before jogging over to his desk and answering the call.

“Yo Shuichi? Where you at? It’s totally been like twenty minutes since we were supposed to meet up!”

Frantic Shuichi shoots the familiar grey clock a glance before rolling his eyes.

“Kaito I still have 20 minutes left.”

“Well okay but you should still kinda hurry up okay bro? Don’t work too hard, see ya!”

Once again his best friend ends the call before Shuichi even has the chance to reply. Sighing he turns into Saito-san’s direction but she just nods at him in confirmation which he takes as his clue to leave, his shift ended half an hour ago anyway and he knows she won’t stay long after he left anyway.

As he makes his way outside he tries to rid himself of any lingering thoughts and theories regarding the homicide, after all he promised himself to stop analysing cases regarding the nameless organisation with its genius mastermind. Maybe it was petty but it’s a decision he’d made over a year ago.

He unlocks his phone to type in the address of the restaurant they were supposed to meet at and proceeds to head in the direction of the nearest bus station. 

-

It’s 6:05pm when he enters the cozy inside of the restaurant he’s supposed to meet his best friends at. The lights are slightly dimmed and faint music plays in the background, nearly drowned out completely by the chattering of guests present. He hasn’t actually visited the restaurant before but apparently Kaito had been here a few times and it’s one of his favourites.

The interior of the building is actually quite nice, he has to admit. The whole restaurant is going for a slight 60s vibe with bright red and white striped seats and a checkered floor. It looks a bit nicer than a typical diner though as the material of the seats is made of cloth instead of the usual plastic and the lights hanging from the ceiling look rather expensive. The restaurant seems to be quite popular too as Shuichi can spot no available seat.

He doesn’t have to though, because as soon as he enters the restaurant he can make out Kaito waving at him from a table at the back.

Maki is seated next to him and she shoots him a small smile as he makes his way towards them. The table is empty except for some menus so he assumes they haven’t been waiting for long.

“Yo Shuichi! Took you long enough huh?”

Maki just rolls her eyes at her boyfriend and shakes her head slightly in response. “Ignore him, we literally just arrived. How are you?”

Shuichi slides into the seat in front of them and pulls off his coat. “I’m good thanks! Work’s been rather busy lately but other than that I’m good, how about you? Is your new job what you expected?”

“Yeah it’s nice.”

And that’s it. It’s not like Shuichi had expected any long explanation, that’s just what she’s like.

“Believe it or not but Harumaki does like her new job a lot! She won’t stop talking about it once I get home!”

“More like you won’t shut up pestering me with questions Kaito.”

Kaito just pouts at her before draping an arm over her shoulders. “Aww don’t be so mean to your loving boyfriend! That just shows how much I care about you you know...”

Maki just scoffs before laughing slightly. “Sure, whatever you idiot.”

Shuichi watches them in amusement and can’t stop himself from smiling. Even though it took his best friends 3 years (aka way too long, they’ve been making heart eyes at each other since university) to finally get together he’s glad they finally did. They _are_ rather adorable and he knows they’re good for each other.

“Anyway! Shuichi did you like lose your phone or something? Oh wait you couldn’t’ve you answered the phone earlier...”

_Huh?_

“What makes you think that?”

“Well you kinda didn’t respond to my messages from this morning or yesterday afternoon. They were nothing important really but still man! I got kinda worried!”

“O-Oh yea uh I fell asleep earlier than expected yesterday and when I woke up this morning I didn’t have enough time to charge it.”

Both of them raise their eyebrows at him. In unison. Kinda scary.

“You totally overworked yourself and fell asleep in your office.”

“Wh- Kaito I-“

“He definitely did. Shuichi, do you want to die?”

“What?! No I don’t I was just... I got off work earlier so I decided to work on some cases, I didn’t overwork myself guys...”

Before his friends have the opportunity to respond a dark haired waitress approaches and they order their drinks. As soon as she's finished writing down their orders and vanished out of sight his best friend raises his voice again though.

“Wait so you got off work earlier? Since when does that happen? I thought you always work till like 3am.”

“Kaito you don’t have to exaggerate but uhm yea my colleague nearly forced me outside.”

Maki’s eyes glitter dangerously at his statement. “She forced you? Do you want me to kill her?”

“Hey Harumaki no need to rile yourself up let’s just listen to Shuichi explain, you’re going to right?”

Kaito shoots him a look and Shuichi mentally curses himself for mentioning the whole thing. He couldn’t just tell him about his crush (was that what it was? A crush? He honestly wasn’t sure) on Ouma-kun, Shuichi knows they’d both never stop asking about him and would proceed to force the detective to let them visit the purple haired waiter. Already thinking about it made his insides turn, he didn’t even know the other well enough! In addition there was still definitely something off about him, the detective just didn’t know what exactly yet.

Shuichi just coughs slightly while thinking of a way to approach the topic but one look at Maki’s blood red eyes tells him there’s no use in talking himself out of it. So better to just shorten the whole thing.

“Uh well there’s this waiter at a restaurant nearby and well he’s uh kind of cute? And my colleague noticed so she basically forced me to leave earlier in order to talk to him. He uh kind of told me when his shift ended.”

“He ‘kind of told you when his shift ended’?“

“Y-Yeah.”

Shuichi thanks the gods that he doesn’t get the chance to elaborate any further as the waitress places their drinks in front of them and proceeds to take their order. As soon as she leaves Kaito leans towards him and fixes him with his eyes.

 _Oh no_.

“Sooo? Did you show up?”

“Yes I did, uh he agreed to text me if I go out with him.”

“What, he has your number too?” He leans back in his seat. “Damn Shuichi! You actually got yourself a date!”

“I-I guess?”

Maki smiles fondly at him. “If they hurt you I’ll just tear them apart so don’t worry.”

“Uhhh, thanks?”

Luckily the topic ends at that as Kaito brags about his promotion and how he’ll definitely be able to fly to space earlier than expected.

A waiter arrives at their table and sets their food in front of them and they dig in shortly after. It’s honestly really good and Shuichi makes a mental note of the restaurant’s name.

They proceed to talk and laugh about literally anything that comes to mind and agree to meet up again in around two weeks time.

As they make their way outside after paying they stop a few feet away from the restaurant’s entrance.

“Alright bro. If your date is nasty or even really great make sure to let me know okay?”

He claps him hard on the back and Shuichi nearly stumbles in return. Kaito just proceeds to laugh before pulling him into a bone crushing hug and Maki just smiles and waves at him as they say their respective goodbyes.

Shuichi is left with a warm and satisfied feeling as he makes his way home to his apartment.

-

The front door shuts silently behind him and he respectively pulls off his shoes and coat. He flops down on his bed face down and sighs loudly into his pillow. God today had been so exhausting.

He rolls around and pulls out his phone.

Perhaps he should finally check his messages?

He clicks on Kaito’s first; nothing surprising. A few from his uncle, one from Kaede and... 9+ from Ouma-kun? Again?

 **[Yesterday, 20:40] Ouma Kokichi:** has my saviour gone to bed already?  
 **[Yesterday, 20:40] Ouma Kokichi:** boohooo boring  
 **[Yesterday, 22:30] Ouma Kokichi:** i swear my neighbours are the most annoying ever like shut up i’m trying to watch my show in peace  
 **[Yesterday, 22:30] Ouma Kokichi:** so you really did go to sleep  
 **[Yesterday, 23:31] Ouma Kokichi:** and i thought you might not be that boring  
 **[Yesterday, 23:32] Ouma Kokichi:** that was a lie you’re boring either way!!  
 **[Yesterday, 23:32] Ouma Kokichi:** saihara-chan drinks black coffee after all only weirdos do that  
 **[3:13] Ouma Kokichi:** why is it so cold outside in november  
 **[3:13] Ouma Kokichi:** plesde takh to meeee  
 **[10:35] Ouma Kokichi:** someone just totally rejected their date it was so funny you totally should’ve seen it  
 **[15:45] Ouma Kokichi:** i think i caught a cold  
 **[15:46] Ouma Kokichi:** saihara-chan where even are you did you die or something  
 **[15:46] Ouma Kokichi:** should’ve taken a kitchen knife with you i tOLD YOU!!!!! wth

Okay that was... something. Honestly, he did feel rather bad about not texting the waiter the whole day though, maybe he should just explain himself?

 **[21:28] Saihara Shuichi:** I’m sorry my day was rather busy and my phone had no battery when I woke up

Also what was that with the other having a cold? Why was he outside at 3am anyway?

 **[21:29] Saihara Shuichi:** Are you feeling better now?

The detective was honestly worried about the other, especially since he knew how easy it was to catch a cold in November... He gets up from his bed in order to grab something to drink when his phone chimes again. He contemplates looking at it first for a split second before snatching the device from his bed and taking it to the kitchen.

After pouring himself a glass of water he decides to unlock his phone and brace himself for the worst.

 **[21:31] Ouma Kokichi:** and i thought my saviour had the audacity to ignore me!!!  
 **[21:33] Saihara Shuichi:** Yeah I’m sorry..  
 **[21:33] Ouma Kokichi:** i cried sm because of you  
 **[21:34] Ouma Kokichi:** that was a lie i didn’t! but i caught a cold and you just left me poor lil me all alone  
 **[21:35] Saihara Shuichi:** are you feeling a bit better at least?

Shuichi saw the three dots appearing and then disappearing again. What was taking him so long? Ouma-kun was a fast typer so why was he texting this long?

 **[21:37] Ouma Kokichi:** sure i’m as fit as usual now!!!

Was the other... lying? But why would he lie about something like that? Shuichi assumes the other would practically jump at any chance of other’s fussing over him and his well-being.

 **[21:37] Saihara Shuichi:** Are you lying?  
 **[21:37] Ouma Kokichi:** nope  
 **[21:38] Saihara Shuichi:** You know you shouldn’t lie about your health, if you’re feeling unwell you can tell others  
 **[21:39] Saihara Shuichi:** I bet there are a lot that care about you, especially when you’re not feeling well Ouma-kun

Once again the dots appear and disappear again for what feels like an eternity.

 **[21:42] Ouma Kokichi:** you’re so silly, i said i’m feeling well  
 **[21:42] Ouma Kokichi:** if you idiot rlly don’t believe me my shift ends at 6pm tomorrow   
**[21:42] Ouma Kokichi:** anyway! you’re boring me i’m going to sleep bye bye

Shuichi doesn’t know what to reply to that. Apparently he doesn’t have to though as the other is going to bed earlier for once today. Huh.

Guess he’d just check to see how Ouma-kun was doing after work tomorrow then.

Sighing he switches off his phone and makes his way to the bathroom.

_God, what a day._


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You forgot your scarf so... Come to think of it, why would you even leave without it if you’re sick?”
> 
> “Uh well it- um I accidentally spilled some panta over it this morning...”
> 
> “You drink that in the morning?!”
> 
> Ouma-kun pouts up at him angrily before taking a small sip from his tea.
> 
> “So what? I can do whatever I want to, Saihara-chan is not my mom after all...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> first off thank you to everyone that left comments and kudos so far it rlly means a lot and ily all <3 *gives hug*

“Hm Saihara-san? You’re in early today!”

Observant as ever. But it was true, if he was actually planning on meeting Ouma-kun later today he’d have to start work a tad earlier than usual.

“Yeah um a friend of mine isn’t feeling well so I’m going to pick them up from work.”

Saito-san just hums before opening one of her drawers and pulling out two small... tea bags?

“If you want to you can make some of my ginger tea. It’s good for preventing, soothing and treating cold or flu symptoms.”

“Oh that would be really nice actually, thank you so much!”

She smiles at him.

“It’s no problem Saihara-san.”

The rest of the day passes by surprisingly quickly. Shuichi tries not checking his phone for messages of a certain waiter _too_ often but unsurprisingly ends up failing miserably. Nonetheless he doesn’t receive any, to be fair it’s not like he’d responded to the other’s messages last night either, so there was really no reason to expect a reply.

He manages to finish the work he’d been assigned for today at around 5:45pm and scrambles to gather his things and make the tea Saito-san had given him. It admittedly smells really nice and he hopes it won’t go cold by the time he’s reached the others work. After all, he doesn’t know how well the paper cups they have at work contain the heat of their drinks, he’s never used them before, never had to, since he always had his green mug to use.

His colleagues bid him goodbye with a small wave and he makes his way to the familiar coffee shop.

On his way he can’t help but ponder over his current situation though. Was he really going to do this? But Ouma-kun had provided him with a time after all... Maybe a part of him did realise how miserable he was feeling and craved help after all? But he was an adult (though he does behave like a small kid most of the time) so maybe he’d just said it to get the detective off his back? What if he really _was_ feeling completely fine after all and Shuichi was just making a big deal out of the whole situation? Was he annoying the other with this? Did it seem weird?

Doubt and anxiety start churning around in his mind but nonetheless he still decides to go and check, if the other was actually feeling perfectly fine like he’d told him he would just leave Ouma-kun alone and if he wasn’t then...

Before he can finish that train of thought though the familiar building of the cafe comes into view. Shuichi still has a few minutes left so he decides to just sit down on the same bench as last time.

It’s rather cold today, the wind blowing relentless and he subconsciously warps his scarf tighter around his neck. At least he has the two warm beverages in his hands to warm him up a bit. Shuichi had told her he would only need one; he wasn’t sick after all, but Saito-san had insisted on him making two, claiming that not only does it soothe the symptoms but also prevents them from occurring in the first place. Maybe that would get the smaller boy to drink his tea, regardless of whether he was sick or not.

Surprisingly he doesn’t have to wait long for the doors to open and for a stumbling blob of black to be shoved outside by... Kiibo?

As soon as he’s successfully shoved outside the smaller boy whips around to glare at the person behind the closed door before eventually shaking his head and walking away.

Wait.

Hastily Shuichi gets up, nearly spilling his tea in the process, and jogs over to the waiter.

“Ouma-kun!”

The other turns around with a look akin to surprise on his face, which only lasts a split second before morphing into his trademark grin and stops dead in his tracks. Finally the detective comes to a stop in front of the other as well whilst breathing heavily. Was he really that out of shape?

“Saihara-chan what-“

Sudden recognition seems to dawn him as his eyes widen slightly as his typical grin keeps resting on his face. If Shuichi hadn’t known Ouma-kun he probably would’ve believed his laid back attitude but now it just looked... off.

The other’s nose is slightly red and there are dark circles underneath his eyes. Ouma-kun’s hair is a poofy mess and so are his wrinkled clothes. Come to think of it, where is his checkered scarf?

“So my saviour decided to actually pay me a visit! What a lovely surprise! But as you can see I am fine and dandy so how about you just go back home?”

Shuichi is speechless. Was the other serious?

“Stop lying.”

Ouma-kun’s expressions morphs into one of shock for a split second before he starts grinning at Shuichi once again.

“I’m really not Saihara-chan.”

“Ouma-kun, you look horrible. I can see those bags under your eyes and you’re... a mess. You obviously don’t look well.”

The other gasps dramatically and rests a hand on top of his heart. “You’re so mean! How dare you say something like that to me, kind of rude you know.”

Tears start forming in his eyes and Shuichi actually feels bad for a second. “Look I’m not... trying to be mean but it’s obvious you’re not feeling well and I- I know we haven’t known each other for long but I do care about you so, please? Please let me help you Ouma-kun.”

The other just stares at him and Shuichi can practically hear the cogs turning inside his head and he just prays the waiter will actually listen.

It feels like hours before the other’s mask finally falls and he heaves a sigh. “Fine I’m not feeling well, whatever. You happy now?”

“I-I wouldn’t say I’m happy but- I’m glad you’re finally admitting it. Look I uh brought tea.”

He can feel his cheeks heat up as the other giggles slightly. “Aw you really are my saviour! Caring for me like that... Too bad I hate tea.”

“You what? Wait you’re lying.”

“Yup! Tea is great.”

He grins before grabbing one of the cups and taking a sip. “Mmm this is actually quite nice.”

Shuichi opens his mouth in order to reply when the other suddenly sneezes and starts shivering a bit after doing so. Wordlessly Shuichi just shoves his drink in the other’s open hand before unwrapping his scarf and wrapping it around Ouma-kun’s neck in return. It’s slightly too big on him but it admittedly looks kind of adorable that way. The waiter’s eyes widen as Shuichi takes back his drink and smiles at him.

“You forgot your scarf so... Come to think of it, why would you even leave without it if you’re sick?”

“Uh well it- um I might’ve spilled some panta over it this morning...”

“You drink that in the morning?!”

Ouma-kun pouts up at him angrily before taking a small sip from his tea.

“So what? I can do whatever I want to, Saihara-chan is not my mom after all...”

“T-That’s true but-“

“What are you even planning to do now anyway? You got me tea and saw how miserable I look so now what?”

That’s honestly a good question. Shuichi hadn’t really thought that far in advance but he knows he can’t just leave the other to his own devices.

“Well, since you’re sick and seemingly incapable of caring for yourself I’m going to um help you.”

“Help me? Like brew me some nice warm chicken soup, spoon fed me, tuck me in bed, sing me to sleep, take my temperature and look after me?”

Shuichi can make out the sarcasm behind Ouma-kun’s question but decides to just ignore it instead.

“Yes.”

That’s clearly not the answer the other had been anticipating as he sputters uselessly for a few seconds before averting his gaze and taking a long sip from his tea.

“Look if that’s too much or if I’m making you uncomfortable you can tell me to stop but- I really want to help you get better. After all I promised to take you out to eat, right?”

That earns him a slight blush from the waiter and Ouma-kun coughs slightly before looking back up at him. 

“Fine if Saihara-chan wants to care for me that badly.”

His voice is barely a mumble and Shuichi has to strain his ear in order to understand.

It’s not like he necessarily wants to but he knows the other would just neglect his health until he probably passes out. The detective just shakes his head before continuing to walk. Ouma-kun falls into step beside him and guides him to the nearby metro which they’ll apparently have to take.

During their journey the other is awfully quiet except for the occasional description or sneeze which isn’t really surprising. After they leave the metro in order to walk the last bit the smaller boy starts holding onto Shuichi’s arm which causes the detective to smile despite himself. The purple eyed waiter was just too adorable.

He didn’t really expect much from Ouma-kun’s apartment. Maybe something a bit smaller than his own? He was earning a good pay check and his apartment was a tad expensive so if Ouma-kun was currently just employed at the cafe? (Assuming he hadn’t lied about even more than that.)

So to say that Shuichi is surprised when they stop in front of a big white apartment complex is an understatement. It looks kind of luxurious already, the front door aligned with two bodyguards and the huge glass doors leading to the main lobby looking really expensive.

Nonetheless the smaller boy has come to a stop about fifty metres in front of the building and is staring right at it.

“Uh Ouma-kun is this-“

“Yes yes Saihara-chan this is where I live just- Follow me.”

He lets go of his arm and Shuichi hates himself for immediately missing the contact. He follows the smaller boy on unsure legs, still entirely suspicious of the whole situation. Was this really Ouma-kun’s apartment?

As soon as they approach the huge doors they open automatically, the guards positioned next to them not sparing either of them a glance. They make their way inside and Ouma-kun grins at the woman sitting behind the counter on their right, which she reciprocates with a small smile of her own.

Wordlessly they step inside one of the four huge elevators and the other pulls out a card which he proceeds to wave in front of a small sensor installed next to the white buttons indicating all 12 floors. The elevator starts moving as they make their way up to the 8th floor.

It eventually comes to a stop with a ringing sound and they step onto the white wooden floor. The walls are white as well, adorned with various paintings and the occasional plant. It looks hostile but nice and especially expensive.

It’s only then that Shuichi realises the other had gone ahead and he quickly moves in order to catch up to him.

They stop in front of a light grey door with the number 812 attached to it and nothing else. No name tag, nothing. But it’s not like it seems unusual, as every other door on the 8th floor looks exactly the same.

Ouma-kun proceeds to fumble for his keys for a few seconds before pulling them out with a triumphant grin.

”Guess I won’t have to lock pick my door after all!”

“You do that?”

“Sometimes I forget my keys at work and I’m too lazy to go back sooo...”

He grins as he unlocks the door and opens it with a rather dramatic swing.

“I didn’t know my saviour would come and visit me today so it’s a tiiiny bit unkept! Whatever, don’t they say something about geniuses and being messy?”

Shuichi follows him inside whilst trying to figure out whether this was all a mistake after all. The detective ends up shaking his head as he takes in his surroundings; they’re currently in a sort of hallway, way longer than his own. The walls are mostly painted white (unsurprisingly) with shelves and hooks plastered onto the sides of the corridor. In addition to the length it’s also not as narrow as his own. They’re currently standing on a fluffy purple carpet which seems to stretch nearly the whole way down.

While the smaller boy tosses his shoes and jacket to the side carelessly Shuichi makes at least and effort to put his own aside neatly. Apparently that’s not what Ouma-kun actually wanted from him though as he just shoots him an odd look and tells him to hurry up.

He proceeds gives him a small tour of the rather too big apartment. The first door on the right leads to a huge bedroom with its own (also huge) bathroom at the back. The colours are mostly kept black and purple (unsurprisingly) and its not as messy as he had initially expected (surprisingly). Sure, there are the occasional empty soda cans and dirty laundry but other than that it’s actually kind of clean. The first door on the left leads to a guest bedroom which is also huge and mostly coloured white and grey, probably because Ouma-kun hadn’t bothered to personalise any aspect of it since there was no apparent need to.

The second door on the same side leads to another bathroom which is even bigger than the previous one, once again kept in lighter shades and mostly unpersonalised. Meanwhile the second door on the right opens up to reveal a small, sparse looking office which surprises the detective. Shuichi would’ve expected a lot of maps and drawings (for whatever reason) but instead it’s just filled with a black desk, a computer, some rather empty looking shelves and a potted plant.

The end of the hallway leads to a big living room with a huge grey couch, a table and a flatscreen tv. Other than that there are small things spread throughout the room which suggests that Ouma-kun probably spends a lot of time here. On the left the room morphs into a (way too big) kitchen and a kitchen island along with some black seats.

Speaking of, the kitchen is probably the messiest so far. There are colourful bowls and plates spread over nearly every surface along with some open boxes of cereal and more cans of grape soda. How much panta does this boy drink? Is this even healthy-

The waiter’s sneeze pulls him out of his thoughts and Shuichi turns around in order to look at him. He’d figured it was nearly impossible but the other looks even worse than before, Ouma-kun’s nose along with his cheeks and ears are red and he looks kind of drowsy. He still has Shuichi’s scarf wrapped around his neck though which is kind of cute.

“Alright. How about you just... lay down on the couch for now? I’ll brink you a blanket and make some tea. Maybe even cook something... have you had anything to eat yet?”

The other shakes his head in response and Shuichi has to stifle a sigh. Ouma-kun really was hopeless.

“Okay then just do as I suggested?”

The waiter huffs before replying. “Fine. But just so you know I usually never take orders from anyone. I’m just doing this so you can leave as soon as possible.”

Shuichi nearly can’t make out the last bit of Ouma-kun’s sentence as he already makes his way over to the couch and flops down on it ungracefully. Additionally he pulls a nearby pillow close to him and nuzzles it with his face.

Shuichi laughs under his breath at the sight and makes his way to the guest bedroom. He quickly grabs the blanket and some pillows and heads back.

“Saihara-chan did you really just steal the blanket and pillow from my flatmate?”

“Wait w-what? But I thought you lived alone?!”

Ouma-kun lets out a giggle that sounds more like a cough and smiles up at him which admittedly looks kind of dopey. “Geez that was a lie Saihara-chan. Guess even when I’m deathly sick you still believe my lies!”

“Ouma-kun please you wouldn’t even admit you were sick an hour ago.”

The smaller boy just huffs in response before raising his voice. “Fine! Just give me the blanket I’m cold okay!”

Shuichi steps over to him and proceeds to spread the blanket over his petite form. He hands him the pillow which causes Ouma-kun to grin up at him.

“Thank you! Is my saviour gonna make tea now?”

“Y-Yea that was the plan uh where’s the-“

“Drawer on the left.”

Shuichi nods and makes his way to the other’s mess of a kitchen. While heating up some water he can’t help but clean up a bit and Shuichi figures he’ll just go ahead and find out where the mugs are himself, he doesn’t want to annoy the other again. After some searching he pulls out a purple and blue mug and fills each of them with tea.

The detective walks over to the smaller boy who is nearly hidden entirely from view due to the blankets and pillows spread around him, except for some messy strands of purple hair and Ouma-kun’s half lidded eyes.

Shuichi can’t help but think that he honestly looks exhausted.

He sits down next to him and sets the beverages down on the table in front of them. Ouma sneezes before pulling himself upright into a sitting position in order to grab the purple mug and starts mumbling something under his breath.

“What was that?”

“Geez Saihara-chan you really gotta clean your ears. I said thank you.”

Even though the waiter’s sentence ends in a quiet mumble again Shuichi can still make out the last bit and smiles softly at him in response. “You’re welcome Ouma-kun.”

He makes a move to sip at his own tea when a tiny hand on his forearm stops him. He shoots the waiter next to him a puzzling look to which the other scowls at him like a child that didn’t receive anything for Christmas.

“I thought you wanted to make soup?”

Well wanted wasn’t really the right word but that’s what he’d planned. Shuichi resists the urge to roll his eyes before setting the mug back down, Ouma-kun’s hand dropping in his lap in the process and making his way over to the kitchen.

Well, here goes nothing.

-

Though Ouma-kun’s kitchen is an untidy mess, his fridge is (to Shuichi’s surprise) clean and tidy, not too stocked and hence he manages to find enough vegetables along with some nearly empty bottle of olive oil and salt.

He manages to make the whole thing rather quickly and takes one of the empty bowls around him to clean it before filling it with soup. Shuichi knows it’s nothing fancy but he’s kind of proud of himself.

Satisfied with himself he makes his way over to the couch once again and puts the bowl along with a spoon he’d managed to find down in front of it gently. As he seats himself next to the lump of blankets he realises that Ouma-kun had fallen asleep.

The detective contemplates waking the other before reminding himself that Ouma-kun hadn’t had anything to eat yet and thus starts gently shaking the lump next to him. It doesn’t take long for the pile of blankets to move and for the waiter to seat himself upright while rubbing his eyes, his hair a purple and fluffy mess. Ouma-kun grumbles something unintelligible under his breath and Shuichi can’t stop himself from laughing.

“Mmm so Saihara-chan is a sadist hm? Getting satisfaction from waking me for no reason and just-“

He stops when he sees the bowl of soup sitting in front of him and his eyes widen slightly but he doesn’t make a move to grab it.

“O-Ouma-kun? Do you not like vegetable soup?”

That seems to startle the other out of his thoughts and he coughs slightly and proceeds to rub his eyes before nodding slightly and taking the bowl of soup into his hands.

But still he just stares at it instead of actually eating anything.

Shuichi is close to asking the small waiter next to him if there’s something wrong with the soup when the other opens his mouth.

“Why?”

It’s barely a whisper and Shuichi nearly doesn’t hear the question. Why? What does he mean? He’d offered to help hadn’t he? And Ouma-kun had even reminded him of cooking earlier, so why would he ask for Shuichi’s reasoning now?

The detective doesn’t get to respond though as the tiny boy next to him suddenly whips his head towards him so fast he thinks he’ll experience whiplash. Ouma-kun grins up at him and for the first time it doesn’t look relaxed as usual but slightly strained and forced.

“Why as in why does it smell so good of course! Are you secretly a cook? Did you lie to me?”

“O-Of course not! I don’t even know if it’s that good to be honest...”

He averts his gaze and starts fiddling with one end of Ouma-kun’s blankets as the other starts slurping his soup.

“Mmmm it’s really good! You sure you don’t want to eat something?”

He looks up at him and shoots the frowning waiter a small smile. “Ah don’t worry I’m good... There’s enough left so you can just heat that up later if you want.”

Ouma-kun nods and grabs for the remote lying in front of them in order to turn on the big flatscreen tv on the opposite wall. Shuichi shoots him a questioning glance and the other turns back around to answer after switching to some sort of cartoon playing on some random channel.

“It’ll get boring otherwise! No offence I really like the soup Saihara-chan, but eating without doing anything else is still kind of boring.”

Shuichi just nods and lets his back hit the couch wordlessly. The cartoon is actually kind of entertaining, he has to admit, and Ouma-kun seems entirely content with the whole situation. It doesn’t take long for him to put the empty bowl and spoon back on the small table in front of them and to sink back into his bundle of blankets.

“Does Saihara-chan even like cartoons? Wait what kind of question is that, everyone does! No, for real,” he leans back and glances at the detective briefly, “what do you usually watch if you even watch anything?”

Shuichi is slightly surprised by the question but he knows the other probably really is genuinely curious about his answer. Back when Ouma-kun had walked him home he’d asked him a bunch of question as well and he’d seemed genuine back then too. Shuichi honestly really enjoyed conversing with the other; it was easy and flowed naturally. So he starts talking about some crime shows and books he likes and Ouma-kun gives the occasional response along with some added questions.

His responses become meeker and quieter as time passes though and when Shuichi suddenly feels a warm weight settle against his shoulder he knows the other has fallen asleep again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> seriously when did this turn into a sickfic-  
> also i’m probably going to try sticking to updating this every thursday so that’s that :D


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Truth is, Shuichi does want to get to know the other better. Partly in order to figure out his lies, but more importantly to find out about why he’s telling them in the first place. He knows how sappy it sounds but from the moment he’d met the other in that dirty alley after midnight Ouma Kokichi hadn’t proceeded to leave his mind.
> 
> Shuichi is going to figure the other out and get to know him, as much as Ouma-kun will let him (he really hopes he will).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is kinda short as it’s more of a filler chapter but oh well at least it has some kaede and shuichi friendship content :”)

**[11:38] Ouma Kokichi:** good morning saihara-chan!! or should i say evening?  
 **[11:38] Ouma Kokichi:** i actually slept until now can you believe it?

Frankly, he could. After Ouma-kun had fallen asleep on him yesterday Shuichi had decided that it would probably be for the best if he got going. The waiter was asleep, he’d left him food and it was getting late so there had really been no reason for him to stay.

Carefully he had moved the other from his position against his side to rest on the couch comfortably. He’d contemplated either waking Ouma-kun or carrying the other to his bedroom but then decided against it, he might’ve ended up waking him in the process and the detective really didn’t want that. Shuichi remembered brushing a few strands of hair away from the waiter’s forehead and heaving a sigh before leaving the other’s apartment as quietly as possible.

 **[11:38] Saihara Shuichi:** Do you feel better now?  
 **[11:38] Ouma Kokichi:** i do actually, all thanks to my saviour!!  
 **[11:39] Saihara Shuichi:** You’re welcome Ouma-kun

He smiles at his phone before opening the chatroom he’d closed earlier in order to reply to the other boy.

 **[11:39] Saihara Shuichi:** So where were you thinking of meeting up?  
 **[11:40] Akamatsu Kaede:** I thought we could just meet up at mine if that’s no problem? I know it’s not too close to yours but it’s been a while since we met at my place!

That was true, the last time had probably been close to their graduation which already seemed like decades ago.

 **[11:40] Saihara Shuichi:** No problem, I’ll be there at 3pm tomorrow then  
 **[11:40] Akamatsu Kaede:** Can’t wait!<3

Finally turning off his phone Shuichi goes back to shifting his attention towards some case files he’d picked up from his office the other day. All of them contain information about smaller incidents, which he likes solving in his free time. Not all the time obviously, sometimes the detective just wants a break from work but since he’d managed to finish his book earlier this morning Shuichi thought he could try solving a few of them while brooding over his coffee.

He doesn’t know why exactly but after leaving Ouma-kun’s apartment yesterday he’d just felt... off. He couldn’t quite place the reason or source of his gloomy attitude so he’d tried distracting himself as much as possible instead. He’d even occupied the thought of going outside to visit one of the parks nearby but it had started raining shortly after so Shuichi had ended up ditching the whole idea.

But after finishing one of his books Kaede had luckily texted him and they’d agreed to meet up tomorrow as it’s been a while since their last meetup.

Sighing Shuichi takes another sip from his coffee and indulges himself in solving some of the case files spread out in front of him.

-

“Shuichi come inside!”

Kaede practically drags him inside and he nearly stumbles in the process.

“Hello to you too.”

He laughs as he shrugs off his coat and Kaede grins at him sheepishly in return. She’s currently standing in the hallway of her apartment, which honestly looks as tidy as usual, to the point where it’s kind of scary. Everything is kept in lighter shades along with bits of purple and pink, similar to his best friend’s wardrobe.

“Sorry, I guess I got a bit excited there... I haven’t seen you in like months after all!”

“It’s been three weeks Kaede.”

She just giggles again as he pulls off his shoes and guides him to her living area. As soon as he enters the bright living room and flops down on the lilac couch unceremoniously his best friend disappears inside the neighbouring kitchen before returning with some glasses and a bottle of water.

“I know, I know. I guess that’s partly my fault as well. I’ve just been so busy with preparations and rehearsals lately!”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve been rather- ah busy as well lately I guess.”

She stops filling up his glass of water and snaps her head up in order to stare at him intensely all while Shuichi tries not to break into a sweat. Kaede’s stares could honestly be worse than Maki’s sometimes and that means a lot.

“With work or... _something_ else?”

The last part has a rather suggestive undertone to it and it slowly dawns the detective what she’s most likely referring to. Shuichi has to fight down a blush from spreading over his cheeks (he isn’t in high school anymore for god’s sake) and mentally curses himself for it.

“He uh he actually didn’t text me for two weeks.”

Her eyes widen and she puts down the bottle rather violently which causes the detective to cringe at the ugly noise the glass makes in contact with the small table in front of him.

“He _what_? No way. Really? Although... the longer I think about it does make sense.”

Now that's a response Shuichi definitely hadn’t been anticipating. Kaede leans back in thought and averts her gaze to stare at the fluffy grey carpet underneath the both of them.

“I mean, Ouma-kun did seem rather mysterious didn’t he?” She laughs slightly before looking up at him again. “He probably has a reason for it.”

That was all? He assumes there’s probably more to her train of thought but Shuichi knows bribing her about her thoughts regarding the topic any further would probably be fruitless. So he just settles on exhaling loudly and mimics her position on the couch.

“Hm yeah I guess, I mean it’s not like we didn’t talk again after all that.”

She raises an eyebrow at him which is basically her way of telling him to continue explaining, before taking the bottle of water into her hands once again and filling the rest of their glasses.

“I- I met him again at the cafe and we ended up talking a bit and he agreed to text me if I buy him dinner-“

“Basically he wants you to take him on a date.”

“Uh yea? Maybe? I don’t really- know. Okay probably ah but well he got sick on... Thursday I believe but he wouldn’t admit to it and- God Kaede you should’ve seen him that guy is hopeless! I’m positive he would’ve died or something if I hadn’t cared for him.”

“Wait wait what? You cared for him? As in you put him to bed, cooked him something, took his tempe-“

“Yes yes now shut up, is it really that weird?”

The detective is slowly growing self-conscious, had his actions really been too much? Had he weirded Ouma-kun out? But the other had still texted him and Shuichi is pretty positive that the other’s condition would’ve gradually worsened if he hadn’t stepped in.

Kaede looks at him in thought and takes a sip from the glass sitting in front of her.

“I mean... no? Maybe? I didn’t see him so I can’t say how bad it was but-“

“It was bad. He didn’t even wear his typical scarf cause he spilled panta over it that morning and he didn’t eat all day! Plus I’m sure one of his colleagues had to basically force him outside for him to finally go home.”

“Alright alright that... does sound pretty bad, how old was he again?”

Shuichi heaves a sigh. “23, though sometimes I think he’s like... 6.”

She giggles. “You like him though right?”

“I- I guess? I mean we haven’t done a lot so far but I do enjoy his company I guess...”

“Aw Shuichi you’re a lost cause. Falling for someone so early already, definitely something I didn’t expect from you!”

Her giggles grow louder as Shuichi sputters around in response. “Wh- I- I don’t even know him well enough!”

“Please, you should’ve seen the look on your face when you realised the guy you helped weeks ago was the same one that was currently waitering you. You basically had stars in your eyes.”

“You know what? How about we stop talking about my love life and start talking about yours! So,” he claps his hands together a bit too enthusiastically and leans a bit towards her, “how’s Rantaro doing?”

Kaede obviously doesn’t look pleased regarding the change of topic, as she just shakes her head slightly but ends up answering nonetheless. “He’s actually doing pretty well. On another of one of his... weird business trips.”

“When does he come back?”

“Next week I believe. He said he’ll have to go on another one soon but that he’ll definitely be in Tokyo for my performance at Suntory Hall.”

Shuichi hums. “How’s that going by the way? You said you were busy recently right?”

They proceed to talk about his best friend’s work and music, completely neglecting the previous topic for which Shuichi is silently grateful for. It’s not as if he doesn’t like seeking Kaede’s opinion but he was rather confused himself when it came to the topic of a certain waiter.

Ouma-kun is just still an entire mystery to figure out. Shuichi has so many questions at this point and the amount only seems to grow the longer he spends time with him (and a tiny part of him honestly thinks that it’s strangely alluring). Come to think of it, even though he had texted the other all morning he still hadn’t managed to figure out how the waiter had gotten sick in the first place. Maybe he’d just ask him the next time they saw eachother? The question is genuinely bothering him after all.

But Ouma-kun does seem to get better, he still complains about the occasional sneeze or cough but says he feels pretty good otherwise which Shuichi is glad about. Maybe his efforts weren’t for naught and he’d actually taken a part in the other’s healing process. Ouma-kun had even mentioned that he’d able to work his next shifts on Thursday and Wednesday and when Shuichi had doubted him he’d proceeded to send him a blurry mess of a selfie in return.

Even though it was honestly really blurry he could still see that Ouma-kun was obviously looking way better than on Friday. His complexion looked healthier and the bags underneath his eyes had nearly vanished completely. Shuichi had also noticed that the waiter was still wearing his scarf, not wrapped around his neck this time but just loosely dangling over his shoulders (and Shuichi’s heart definitely hadn’t skipped a beat after he’d noticed).

The detective had just replied with a picture of half of his face and his black coffee in return to which the other had bombarded his phone with stickers of a variety of different faces looking rather... nauseous (Shuishi hadn’t thought it was possible for there to be that many stickers of vomiting faces but Ouma-kun had definitely managed to prove him wrong).

He’d stopped reluctantly after Shuichi had complained about him making his app crash and just called his phone ‘weak’ (whatever that meant).

Ouma-kun honestly does act like a child most of the time but Shuichi can’t bring himself to mind (and a part of him is silently asking himself how much of the other’s demeanour is actually real, he’d experienced the waiter’s complexion softening and Ouma-kun acting like a completely different person a few times before).

Truth is, Shuichi does want to get to know the other better. Partly in order to figure out his lies, but more importantly to find out about why he’s telling them in the first place. He knows how sappy it sounds but from the moment he’d met the other in that dirty alley after midnight Ouma Kokichi hadn’t proceeded to leave his mind.

Shuichi is going to figure the other out and get to know him, as much as Ouma-kun will let him (he really hopes he will).

Shuichi is so lost in thought that he nearly doesn’t notice Kaede approaching the couch he’s currently still settled on.

“Alright I ordered some pizza which should arrive in the next 20 minutes. How about we watch something in the meantime?”

Shuichi nods happily and they shift closer to eachother as Kaede turns on one of the countless shows they’d started but had never managed to finish.

It feels just like when they were still studying and the whole situation reminds Shuichi of why the person seated next to him is his best friend. Kaede has been with him through the toughest parts of his life and whenever he spends time with her it’s honestly always fun and memorable. He does love and value her a lot and Shuichi honestly couldn’t imagine having a better best friend than Kaede.

Of course he loves his other friends too, especially Kaito and Maki but him and Kaede... it’s just different. She’s honestly like the sister he’s never had at this point and Shuichi knows he can always rely on her. She’s a bit of a pain in the ass sometimes but he figures he really isn’t any better either. But that’s exactly what makes their friendship unique and it really is perfect that way.

Kaede rushes to the door shortly after the doorbell chimes and returns with two boxes of pizza and a satisfied smile on her face which Shuichi mimics upon seeing her approaching with their food.

They share their pizza while laughing about the ridiculousness of the show they’re currently watching and Shuichi silently wishes he could stay over just like he used to but he knows he has work the next day and just simply can’t.

So he reluctantly leaves Kaede’s apartment at around 9pm with the promise to meet up again with her as soon as possible. They hug for longer than necessary and on his way back Shuichi makes the promise to try and go to sleep earlier today for once, the shift he’ll have to work tomorrow will be a longer one after all.

The detective probably should’ve known that his plans would fail completely as Kokichi has no work on Monday and therefore won’t stop blowing up his phone with new messages. The most absurd part of it all though is that he doesn’t actually mind. He likes texting Ouma-kun, with how ridiculous and childish he is, and so Shuichi only manages to fall asleep after midnight when he can’t manage to keep his eyes open any longer. His phone chimes with new messages, tinting his bedroom in a soft light, not that Shuichi would notice since he has fallen asleep already.

 **[1:23] Ouma Kokichi:** i swear it was so ridiculous you should’ve seen his face  
 **[1:23] Ouma Kokichi:** kind of reminded me of you when i gave you my super special drink  
 **[1:24] Ouma Kokichi:** y’know maybe i’ll make it again  
 **[1:24] Ouma Kokichi:** just for you  
 **[1:27] Ouma Kokichi:** that was a lie i’ll only make it if you pay me a loooot of money or something   
**[1:28] Ouma Kokichi:** did you fall asleep?  
 **[1:28] Ouma Kokichi:** hmm i feel like you did

 **[1:35] Ouma Kokichi:** good night saihara-chan <3


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As soon as the detective stumbles out of their office and his feet make contact with the street Shuichi whirls around one last time only for her to smile at him and shut the door in his face.
> 
> “Oh dear maybe I should’ve worded that better.”
> 
> It honestly shouldn’t surprise him that nobody else other than Ouma Kokichi would be behind this situation but it somehow still does.
> 
> Shuichi closes his eyes and braces himself before turning around slowly and opening his eyes.
> 
> He doesn’t know what he’d expected but it definitely wasn’t this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wowie new chapter! fun fact i passed the written exam for my drivers license today so that’s good :”) also uh exams start soon for me so i’ll try my best to keep updating weekly but we’ll see! i have the next 4 chapters already written after all yayay
> 
> also there are slight mentions of anxiety and bullying included just to warn some of you <3

Monday was long and stressful. The only good thing really, had been the small breaks the detective took in which he could sip his coffee and text a certain purple haired waiter.

Shuichi doesn’t know when exactly texting Ouma-kun had become a sort of stress reliever and admittedly one of the best parts of his day. Obviously the other was still his ridiculous, lying self but despite that their conversations were actually interesting and entertaining. Sometimes they just consisted of them sending each other blurry pictures in an apparent attempt to see who could snap the most ridiculous one (it was to nobody’s surprise that Ouma-kun won every time) but they could also be about, well, anything really.

Shuichi doesn’t think he’s ever managed to open up to someone as quickly before and it honestly scares him a bit, especially since he still hasn’t managed to figure out most of the lies involving said waiter. Whenever the voice inside his head questions whether he could actually trust this person he’s so carelessly sharing most of his thoughts on a daily basis with he has to put his phone down for a few minutes and think.

He had to figure out why Ouma-kun had been lying about his occupation and university. It just didn’t make sense! He couldn’t just outright ask him about it though, god knows how that would end.

For now he’d just... enjoy this, whatever _this_ was and try to get to know the other better. There was still the meal he’d promised the other (or as Kaede would call it, a _date_ ) and a part of him can’t wait to see the other again. He feels like a schoolgirl in highschool, since he still hasn’t managed to name or categorise his thoughts or feelings regarding the other properly, he’d just made a promise to try and get to know Ouma-kun better and that’s what he was doing, right? God, he was so confused.

The good thing was that all this mess distracted the detective’s mind from drifting back towards last week’s gruesome crime. It’s been a while since he’s been tasked to investigate a homicide case and Shuichi is honestly relieved his mind hadn’t been drawn to the event that much. Usually it was hard for the detective to distance himself from the group’s crimes despite the promise he’d made. There was still a part of him that wanted to uncover and expose the truth behind all of it, even though he knew he probably couldn’t.

But his mind hadn’t wandered to last week’s case at all really.

Shuichi just blames it on Ouma-kun’s confusing nature and everything that comes with it and sits back down at his desk. Saito-san isn’t present today, busy with investigating a new case she’d received yesterday and he had to admit that he slightly missed her cheerful presence. His other colleagues must have seemed to notice his slight droop in attitude but they made sure not to comment on it and just occasionally shot him a reassuring smile instead. Had he really become so attached to the detective sitting in front of him?

Shuichi is startled out of his thoughts when the door swings open and the person currently occupying his thoughts rushes inside. The detective stands up automatically, already opening his mouth to say at least _something_ when Saito-san raises a finger to shush him.

“Saihara-san! How dare you forget your plans and leave your boyfriend waiting!”

_What?_

“Saito-san what are you-“

But before he can finish his sentence his colleague takes his coat hanging on the wall to her right and shoves it into his chest. “Don’t worry about it, just take your things and go! I’m sure boss won’t mind with you always working longer than necessary.”

He knows for a fact that he won’t be able to stop her so he just hastily pulls on his coat and reaches for his phone and bag at his desk. He hesitates for a few seconds and decides to try and ask her about what the hell she was even talking about but Saito-san just shakes her head and shoves him outside.

As soon as the detective stumbles out of their office and his feet make contact with the street Shuichi whirls around one last time only for her to smile at him and shut the door in his face.

“Oh dear maybe I should’ve worded that better.”

It honestly shouldn’t surprise him that nobody else other than Ouma Kokichi would be behind this situation but it somehow still does.

Shuichi closes his eyes and braces himself before turning around slowly and opening his eyes.

He doesn’t know what he’d expected but it definitely wasn’t this.

Ouma-kun is standing in front of him in his oversized black coat, Shuichi’s scarf wrapped around his neck and dangling down his chest. His hair is a fluffy mess and his cheeks are slightly rosey but he admittedly looks healthy and... good, actually. But what surprises the detective the most are the two brightly coloured drinks in his hands. Both substances are a mix of blue and purple which can be seen through the plastic cups they’re currently in and it slowly dawns Shuichi what exactly Ouma-kun is holding.

Suddenly his mind pulls a blank and he can only proceed to stare at the small waiter and his infamous drink.

“Is that...?”

He grins cheekily and nods with way too much vigour before bouncing towards the detective and handing him one of the drinks.

“I decided to surprise Saihara-chan after work but I didn’t know when your shift ended so...”

“So you just turned up randomly?”

Ouma-kun actually looks kind of offended and sips at his drink before slightly shaking his head. “Of course not Saihara-chan who do you think I am? I decided to go to your office after my shift ended and even texted you! You didn’t respond though and then your colleague saw me and asked me what I was doing and uh...”

He honestly looks kind of flustered towards the end and Shuichi finds it weirdly endearing. The things he was saying did make sense though, he hadn’t checked his phone in the last hour, too busy letting his mind wander and it only made sense for Ouma-kun to show up at this time, Shuichi had always managed to meet him around this time in the past after all. The only thing that didn’t add up though...

“How do you know where I work?”

“Silly! You told me!”

“No I didn’t...”

Ouma-kun huffs before replying, apparently exasperated to be caught lying. “Fine, I looked it up. You’re actually pretty famous you know that?”

It’s true that Shuichi has solved a few bigger cases in the past but he wouldn’t refer to himself as ‘famous’, he’s honestly too tired to argue though and decides to get straight to the point.

“Um thank you Ouma-kun but... what exactly where you planning on doing now?”

The other dramatically raises his hand to his chin in thought and Shuichi already knows he’s pretending. “I didn’t really think about it yet buuut we could go to the nearby park? It should be open.”

He decides that that’s actually a nice idea and nods to Ouma-kun before subconsciously taking a sip and startling in response when the flavour isn’t the bitterness of coffee that he’s used to, but the sweetness of Ouma-kun’s own overly sweet creation instead. The waiter seems to notice as he laughs softly and Shuichi can’t keep himself from smiling at the sight.

“Come on I know you enjoy it! You drank all of it last time!”

“Yeah I guess that’s true...”

He smiles at him before stepping closer to the detective’s side and looping his arm around Shuichi’s. “Then let’s go Saihara-chan, what are you waiting for?”

-

The short walk to one of the nearby parks is a bit quiet but still pleasant nonetheless. Ouma-kun had begun humming something under his breath ever since they started walking and Shuichi surprisingly can’t bring himself to find it annoying in the least, quite the opposite actually; the other’s weird singsong sounded quite nice. Ouma-kun still has his arm hooked around the detective’s and a slight bounce in his step. Shuichi figures the other must be in a good mood.

They’d still texted this morning obviously; Ouma-kun had gone back to work today as he was feeling way better already and he’d texted Shuichi about all the ‘weird customers’ he had waitered for today. Still, not in a million years would the detective have guessed that Ouma-kun would show up at his workplace, but once he’d gotten over the initial shock and surprise he was kind of glad he had.

Shuichi had admittedly been a bit afraid to seem overly pushy (ironic considering Ouma-kun was the one blowing up his phone the whole time). He wanted to spend time with the other but was admittedly still self-conscious over whether last Friday had been too much. But the waiter next to him hadn’t seemed appalled, rather the opposite, right? He even came around to Shuichi’s work after all...

“Saihara-chan I can practically hear the gears in your pretty brain turning.”

Shuichi blushes a bit at being caught and averts his gaze towards the floor.

“I really hope it’s not about Friday.”

_How had he-_

“I can read minds you know.”

Shuichi stops dead in his tracks to stare at the waiter next to him. Seemingly surprised Ouma-kun turns his head to look at Shuichi before grinning at him. “That was a lie obviously! I can’t actually read minds but it was kind of obvious.”

“R-Really?”

Shuichi actually thought he had a pretty good grip on his emotions and whether to let them show or not but apparently Ouma-kun had proven him wrong once again. Shuichi moves his head to look at literally anything else except for the other’s face but a small hand on his cheek prevents him from doing so and makes him stare into purple eyes instead.

The other’s face is surprisingly blank; something he hasn’t really seen a lot on him before, the only time being when the waiter had admitted to his rather miserable state last week. “You know there’s no reason to be selfconscious, while the thing you did was honestly uncommon it did make me feel better and,” he drops his gaze to stare at the ground underneath them intensely as his cheeks turn a light shade of red, “I honestly _am_ thankful for it.”

Suddenly he drops his hand and snaps his head back up to grin at Shuichi. “After all, that way I could complain about people’s shitty antics at my workplace to you!”

Shuichi snorts and shakes his head in amusement while Ouma-kun continues grinning at him. “Alright! I think I can see the park’s entry already soo let’s go shall we?”

This time he takes Shuichi’s hand and drags him towards the park’s entry. The detective can’t help but notice how warm and small the other’s hand is and how it seemingly fits into his bigger one perfectly.

He shakes his head at the ridiculousness of his own thoughts and tries to take in their surroundings. He nearly gasps at the sight, he’d truly forgotten how magnificent Tokyo’s parks looked in November.

The trees illuminated by the lights around them are tinted in rich yellows and reds and it honestly looks beautiful in Shuichi’s opinion. He doesn’t even realise that they’d come to a stop until Ouma-kun releases his hand and gestures to a nearby park bench.

“Let’s just sit down over there? It’s right next to the lake as well!”

Shuichi just nods in response and makes his way over to the bench in order to flop down on it unceremoniously. He closes his eyes and enjoys the soft breeze and the rustling of trees around them when he suddenly feels something warm and heavy settle in his lap. Surprised, he snaps his eyes open only to stare into a pair of violet ones.

“Is this bothering you Saihara-chan?”

Was the other seriously asking Shuichi if him lying down on the bench next to him with his head draped over his lap was okay- Shuichi surprises himself when he realises that it’s actually not that uncomfortable or weird as he might’ve thought but kind of pleasant instead, it seemed right somehow.

So he ends up smiling fondly at the waiter below him and shakes his head slightly. Ouma-kun seems quite satisfied with the response as he just grins at him before closing his eyes and humming to himself once again.

Shuichi can’t help but move his hand towards the other’s head. The detective doesn’t even realise what exactly he’s doing until he’s fiddling with a few of the other’s hair strands absentmindedly, his thoughts drifting to the realisation of how soft Ouma-kun’s hair really is.

Suddenly the humming stops and Shuichi starts to realise what exactly he’s doing. An apology is already on his lips as he looks down at the waiter but Ouma-kun just smiles up at him before closing his eyes once more.

So that meant it was... okay?

Shuichi exhales silently and continues to fiddle with the other’s hair. Again, he can’t help but notice how soft and silky the waiter’s hair really is. It honestly looks like a fluffy mess most of the time, even when pulled back into his ponytail but he thinks he likes the way it looks. It suits him. It’s dark purple, looking close to black sometimes but the ends of his hair are tinted in a lighter shade of violet, nearly seeming purposely dyed. Come to think of it-

“Ouma-kun is the colour of your hair natural?”

The waiter stops humming and opens his eyes to peer up at Shuichi from below. “Mmmmm it is! Unlike my eyes it’s all natural!”

_Unlike the colour of his... eyes? What?_

Shuichi frowns at him in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Ouma-kun purses his lips, seemingly contemplating something before looking back up at him. “Come on Saihara-chan you’re a detective you should figure this one out.”

But Shuichi is honestly confused. The colour of his eyes isn’t natural? He averts his gaze in order to stare into the purple orbs below him when it suddenly dawns him.

“You- You wear contacts?”

“Ding ding ding! I knew Saihara-chan was a real detective after all! That’s right, I do wear contacts. Not all the time obviously but-“

“But why?”

The question seems to surprise the other and he starts fiddling with Shuichi’s scarf in thought. “Well the obvious answer would be cause I need glasses right?”

“But that’s wrong isn’t it? I saw you wearing glasses in one of the selfies you sent me and your eyes were still purple.”

Now Ouma-kun huffs in response and starts pouting as he crosses his arms over his chest in a petulant manner. “Well then why does the great detective think I wear contacts?”

“Ouma-kun do you... not like your natural eye colour?”

“Hmmm let’s just say I don’t like half of it.”

“Half of-,” he feels himself frown in thought until an idea abruptly hits him, “wait do you have heterochromia?”

Now Ouma-kun huffs even louder than before and flares his arms in the air dramatically. “Ugh you’re no fun Saihara-chan.”

“So that’s a yes?”

“Yeah that’s a yes. But now that you’ve so impudently revealed my darkest, most shameful secret you will have to do the same!”

“Wait what- you basically told me your secret though Ouma-kun...”

The waiter just pouts up at him again, making him look way younger and childish than usual and Shuichi ends up groaning and raising his voice. “Fine I’ll tell you something about myself as well.”

The other looks at him so curiously and expectantly it’s kind of adorable. “I uhm wear glasses. Sometimes at least. During work or when I read something.”

“Nghh that’s so lame though, I totally knew that already!”

He can’t remember mentioning it to the other before or sending him a picture of him wearing his glasses but it could very well be the truth, so he settles on telling him something else in addition. “Alright I ah used to smoke. I mainly did it cause I got anxious and stressed a lot but I don’t really do it anymore, only when my anxiety gets the best of me.”

The waiter’s eyes widen in surprise and he opens his mouth only to close it again. Seconds pass by and Shuichi feels like he just made a major mistake in admitting to something related to his past when the other’s quiet voice breaks the silence between them. “You know I was actually just messing with you earlier, I didn’t know my beloved detective wore glasses buuut I’m glad my saviour got better! Anxiety is a nasty thing if I do say so myself!”

Shuichi feels like there’s more the other wants to say so he just stays quiet and waits for the waiter to raise his voice again.

“Well since Saihara-chan shared two things about himself I’ll add one thing as well!” He gets up from his position in order to sit down next to Shuichi, pulling one of his knees to his chest and fixing the lake in front of them with a light frown. “You asked about my hair colour earlier right? Well I actually dyed it black in middle school for some time. You see, it used to be brighter back then and I guess people didn’t really like purple!” He chuckles a bit to himself but it just ends up sounding dejected and strained.

Before Shuichi can think about it for too long he envelops the other from behind, holding him close to his chest. He can make out a slight gasp and the waiter’s body stiffening for a moment before he relaxes and lets his head rest against the crook of his neck. Ouma-kun is so warm and small against him and if he focuses he can hear the other’s breathing, not in a weird way of course, more in a relaxing, content sort of way.

He doesn’t know why but he gets the weird urge to protect the other, even though he knows Ouma-kun could probably protect himself better than Shuichi ever could. The trees rustle around them, the pretty colour of their leaves still illuminated by the street lights spread throughout the park they’re currently in.

Shuichi doesn’t know for how long they stay like this, him enveloping Ouma-kun from behind and the other leaning against him but eventually the waiter’s voice breaks the silence around them once more. “Oh wow this really got depressing fast didn’t it? Thank you though. I guess I’m just still not completely over my middle school phase.”

The detective nearly can’t make out the second part since the waiter says it so quietly. He can though, so he just hugs him a bit tighter and releases the other shortly after. As soon as he does Ouma-kun stands up hastily before turning around and shooting the detective a small smile while stretching out his hand towards him.

Shuichi smiles up at him before taking the other’s (still warm) hand.

-

After walking through nearly the whole park, all while talking and holding hands, they eventually end up in front of Shuichi’s apartment complex. 

Ouma-kun lets go of his hand and takes a step back in order to grin up at him and Shuichi immediately misses the warmth of the other’s smaller hand in his.

“I guess this is goodbye then for now Saihara-chan!”

He waves at him before making a move to turn around but Shuichi’s hand on his arm stops him. “W-wait there’s something I wanted to ask you.” Ouma-kun turns back around to face him and cocks his head in question. “Oh? Something you couldn’t just text me?”

Shuichi takes a deep breath and shakes his head slightly. “No it’s something I wanted to ask you in person.” Ouma-kun just nods at him which the detective takes as a sign to proceed and he finally asks the question that’s been buzzing around in his head all afternoon.

“Are you free on Saturday?”

The waiter slightly raises his eyebrows before grinning cheekily and taking a step towards Shuichi. The detective can’t help but notice how their chests nearly brush against each other and his heartbeat picks up involuntarily.

“Of course I am, I have to work on the weekend but we can meet up around 7pm in front of the cafe?”

He just nods at him like a star struck puppy and Ouma-kun’s grin grows even wider before he goes on his tiptoes in order to press a small kiss to Shuichi’s cheek. He giggles to himself as he turns and walks away, leaving the detective to stare after him dumbfounded and surprised.

He raises a hand to touch the spot Ouma-kun had just kissed and can’t keep himself from blushing at the memory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also yes this is me shamelessly incorporating all my fav headcanons into my fic thanks for noticing


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Woah Saihara-chan and you brought a full box of them too?"
> 
> "Uh y-yeah they're with blueberries..."
> 
> Ouma-kun gasps dramatically at Shuichi's statement and raises a hand to touch his cheek. "Oh no, blueberries you say?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ik this is kind of short but! again, this is a sort of filler chapter as the next one will include their date and thus be a bit longer <3

Tuesday

**[22:23] Ouma Kokichi:** did my beloved arrive home safely?

 **[22:26] Saihara Shuichi:** Ouma-kun you dropped me off at my apartment

 **[22:27] Ouma Kokichi:** so?

 **[22:27] Saihara Shuichi:** Well I think it’s obvious

 **[22:27] Ouma Kokichi:** ??? (`ー´)

 **[22:27] Saihara Shuichi:** Nevermind

 **[22:27] Ouma Kokichi:** you’re so complicated sometimes saihara-chan!!

 **[22:27] Saihara Shuichi:** If you say so...

 **[22:27] Ouma Kokichi:** that was obviously a lie silly ur just boring not complicated

 **[22:28] Saihara Shuichi:** Thanks I guess?

 **[22:28] Ouma Kokichi:** _[Image attached]_

 **[22:28] Saihara Shuichi:** WHAT IS THAT

 **[22:29] Ouma Kokichi:** oops wrong person

 **[22:29] Ouma Kokichi:** didn’t know that i’d just have to send a pic of my super special fettuccine al pomodoro for saihara-chan to scream at me

 **[22:30] Saihara Shuichi:** Okay first off I didn’t scream at you Ouma-kun

 **[22:31] Saihara Shuichi:** Second, I don’t know what that is but I looked it up and it does not look like that thing you just sent

 **[22:32] Ouma Kokichi:** wow so mean

 **[22:35] Ouma Kokichi:** i only burned the tomato sauce a bit

 **[22:37] Saihara Shuichi:** The ‘sauce’ is black Ouma-kun

 **[22:37] Saihara Shuichi:** B l a c k

 **[22:38] Ouma Kokichi:** stop discriminating its not that bad!!!

 **[22:38] Saihara Shuichi:** ...

**[22:57] Ouma Kokichi:** nevermind it is

 **[23:03] Saihara Shuichi:** Do I even want to know about why you just changed your opinion-

 **[23:05] Ouma Kokichi:** _[2 images attached]_

 **[23:05] Ouma Kokichi:** :(

 **[23:07] Saihara Shuichi:** Please don’t tell me those are real

 **[23:07] Ouma Kokichi:** they are!! i’d never lie to you saihara-chan

 **[23:07] Ouma Kokichi:** just kidding, i totally would

 **[23:07] Ouma Kokichi:** but they’re real:/

 **[23:07] Ouma Kokichi:** sadly

 **[23:07] Ouma Kokichi:** now i’ll never ever be allowed to enter his restaurant again!!!

 **[23:08] Saihara Shuichi:** He’s a chef???

 **[23:08] Ouma Kokichi:** yea

 **[23:08] Saihara Shuichi:** I- Do not know what to say if I’m being honest

 **[23:09] Ouma Kokichi:** :(

 **[23:09] Saihara Shuichi:** I mean what the hell were you thinking??

 **[23:09] Ouma Kokichi:** :((

 **[23:09] Saihara Shuichi:** Okay maybe it’s not that bad?

 **[23:10] Ouma Kokichi:** _[2 images attached]_

 **[23:12] Saihara Shuichi:** I take that back

Wednesday

**[01:22] Saihara Shuichi:** What about this?

 **[01:22] Saihara Shuichi:** _[Image attached]_

 **[01:23] Ouma Kokichi:** i guess that makes sense

 **[01:23] Ouma Kokichi:** mystery solved then!!!

 **[01:23] Saihara Shuichi:** Can I go to bed now? I kind of have work today...

 **[01:23] Ouma Kokichi:** so do i saihara-chan but it’s finee you don’t have to stay up w me

 **[01:24] Saihara Shuichi:** You know you should go sleep as well, I know you have a shift today you told me

**[01:33] Ouma Kokichi:** NGHHHH i diDDD

 **[01:34] Saihara Shuichi:** Did you really just scroll through all our messages to see if I was right-

 **[01:34] Ouma Kokichi:** maybe

 **[01:35] Saihara Shuichi:** Ouma-kun please go to bed

 **[01:35] Ouma Kokichi:** hmmmmm

 **[01:35] Ouma Kokichi:** fine but only if i get something in return

 **[01:35] Saihara Shuichi:** Fine just... go to sleep

 **[01:36] Ouma Kokichi:** silly saihara-chan i’m already half asleep!!

 **[01:36] Saihara Shuichi:** Good night to you too Ouma-kun

**[10:53] Ouma Kokichi:** _[Image attached]_

 **[10:54] Saihara Shuichi:** Fine it is kind of funny

 **[10:54] Saihara Shuichi:** But mainly just... sad

 **[10:54] Ouma Kokichi:** HA!! i knew saihara-chan was secretly a sadist!!! no backsies

 **[10:54] Saihara Shuichi:** No what?

 **[10:55] Saihara Shuichi:** Also I’m not :(

 **[10:55] Ouma Kokichi:** fine you even used an emoji guess i believe you

 **[10:55] Saihara Shuichi:** :)

 **[10:55] Ouma Kokichi:** why are you like this

**[14:21] Ouma Kokichi:** aaaand did you catch him red handed yet?

 **[14:26] Saihara Shuichi:** No Ouma-kun I’m just questioning people I literally just told you

 **[14:27] Ouma Kokichi:** pfffft boring

**[14:50] Saihara Shuichi:** We actually did catch him just now-

 **[14:51] Ouma Kokichi:** OO RLLY

 **[14:51] Saihara Shuichi:** Yeah... this has never happened before

 **[14:51] Ouma Kokichi:** ha i bet its all the great doing of ouma kokichi!! this is clearly a sign that you should text me about your investigations more often

 **[14:52] Saihara Shuichi:** Guess I should follow that advice then :)

 **[14:52] Ouma Kokichi:** i don’t know if i like you using emojis yet or not

 **[14:52] Saihara Shuichi:** :(

 **[14:53] Ouma Kokichi:** oh stop it

**[15:28] Saihara Shuichi:** So your shift ends in half an hour right?

 **[15:29] Ouma Kokichi:** yea but miu told me to stay in the kitchen until then

 **[15:29] Saihara Shuichi:** Wait is it cause of the milk incident you just told me about?

 **[15:33] Ouma Kokichi:** you do realise how weird that sounds right saihara-chan....

 **[15:33] Ouma Kokichi:** but yeaaa it is he got angrier than expected

 **[15:33] Saihara Shuichi:** Are you even surprised at this point

 **[15:34] Ouma Kokichi:** heh not really!! at least that way i don’t have to see miu’s ugly face for the rest of the day

 **[15:34] Ouma Kokichi:** also you should get back to work >:( it’s enough if one of us is lazy

 **[15:36] Saihara Shuichi:** Did you just admit to being lazy?

 **[15:36] Ouma Kokichi:** work saihara-chan, w o r k

**[15:58] Ouma Kokichi:** Wait are you the guy that just tripped outside of our shop and nearly lost the box he's carrying-

**[19:45] Saihara Shuichi:** And you’re sure you’re not allergic to blueberries?

 **[19:48] Ouma Kokichi:** yes saihara-chan i was just messing with you earlier

 **[19:48] Ouma Kokichi:** i love the muffins you gave me i promise

 **[19:48] Ouma Kokichi:** wait a sec

 **[19:48] Saihara Shuichi:** Uh

 **[19:53] Ouma Kokichi:** _[3 Images attached]_

 **[19:55] Saihara Shuichi:** Did you really just send me pictures of you eating the muffins

 **[19:56] Ouma Kokichi:** sure did!!

 **[19:56] Ouma Kokichi:** a silly detective like you needs proof to believe me right?

 **[19:56] Ouma Kokichi:** so i decided to send you these ad worthy pics of me eating!!

 **[19:57] Saihara Shuichi:** They’re...

 **[19:57] Ouma Kokichi:** amazing? i know!!

 **[19:57] Saihara Shuichi:** I was going for cute but that works as well

 **[19:57] Ouma Kokichi:** did you just compliment me?

 **[19:58] Ouma Kokichi:** aNd call me cute??

 **[19:58] Ouma Kokichi:** in one text???

 **[19:58] Ouma Kokichi:** only i’m allowed to call you cute saihara-chan, no fair!

 **[19:58] Saihara Shuichi:** :|

 **[19:58] Ouma Kokichi:** fine i’ll let this one slide

 **[20:03] Ouma Kokichi:** the muffins are really good by the way maybe i should’ve listened to you and actually gone to bed so i wouldn’t feel bad rn

 **[20:07] Saihara Shuichi:** Wait what

 **[20:08] Ouma Kokichi:** it’s a lie don’t worry!! i went to bed as promised

 **[20:10] Saihara Shuichi:** If I could sigh over text right now I would

Thursday

**[0:21] Ouma Kokichi:** saihara-chaaaan

 **[0:21] Ouma Kokichi:** i finally found the video i told you about earlier!!!!

 **[0:22] Saihara Shuichi:** Ouma-kun go to bed

 **[0:22] Ouma Kokichi:** do i get more muffins if i do?

 **[0:22] Saihara Shuichi:** Did you already eat all of them?!

 **[0:22] Ouma Kokichi:** ....... maybe

 **[0:23] Saihara Shuichi:** I literally gave you a full box of them

 **[0:23] Ouma Kokichi:** so what?

 **[0:23] Ouma Kokichi:** are you going to shame me now saihara-chan?

 **[0:23] Saihara Shuichi:** No of course not

 **[0:27] Saihara Shuichi:** Fine I’ll see what I can do, now go to bed

 **[0:27] Ouma Kokichi:** your wish is my command<33

 **[0:28] Ouma Kokichi:** as long as i get muffins that is

 **[0:28] Ouma Kokichi:** good night saihara-chan!!

 **[0:28] Saihara Shuichi:** Good night Ouma-kun

**[12:03] Ouma Kokichi:** omg so the guy from earlier this morning just came back

 **[12:05] Saihara Shuichi:** The weird one or the one that looked like a sloth?

 **[12:06] Ouma Kokichi:** they were both weird but!! the weird one like the rlly weird one

 **[12:06] Saihara Shuichi:** Oh

 **[12:06] Ouma Kokichi:** yea idk it was weird he kept staring at my chest

 **[12:07] Saihara Shuichi:** At your... chest?

 **[12:07] Ouma Kokichi:** yeah

 **[12:07] Ouma Kokichi:** he was probably checking out my boobs :(

 **[12:08] Saihara Shuichi:** Uh

 **[12:08] Saihara Shuichi:** Sure

 **[12:11] Saihara Shuichi:** Did he at least buy something?

 **[12:11] Ouma Kokichi:** yea he ordered a glass of water???? like? what

 **[12:12] Saihara Shuichi:** Maybe he was nervous and forgot his original order?

 **[12:12] Ouma Kokichi:** hm idk maybe

 **[12:16] Ouma Kokichi:** are you gonna come by later again?

 **[12:16] Saihara Shuichi:** Don’t think I’ll be able to :(

 **[12:17] Saihara Shuichi:** I just received a new case so I’ll be out investigating all afternoon

 **[12:17] Saihara Shuichi:** I’m sorry

 **[12:18] Saihara Shuichi:** Tomorrow maybe?

 **[12:22] Saihara Shuichi:** Ouma-kun?

**[12:35] Saihara Shuichi:** Hello?

**[13:02] Saihara Shuichi:** I can’t believe you just came by randomly claiming you thought I was cheating

 **[13:08] Ouma Kokichi:** oh cmon it was totally worth the looks on the faces of your colleagues

 **[13:09] Saihara Shuichi:** No it wasn’t

 **[13:09] Saihara Shuichi:** >:|

 **[13:11] Ouma Kokichi:** oh angry emoji i guess that means saihara-chan really *is* angry

 **[13:11] Ouma Kokichi:** i’m sorry?

 **[13:12] Ouma Kokichi:** at least i brought you your favourite drink

 **[13:12] Saihara Shuichi:** Your weird creation is not my favourite drink

 **[13:12] Ouma Kokichi:** you always drink all of it though

 **[13:12] Saihara Shuichi:** ....

 **[13:12] Ouma Kokichi:** heh seee you know you love it<3<3

**[14:01] Ouma Kokichi:** hi saihara-chan how is investigating goingg

 **[14:02] Ouma Kokichi:** btw super weird guy came back for a third time??

 **[14:02] Ouma Kokichi:** he said he wanted to ask me out on a date

 **[14:02] Ouma Kokichi:** ngl i kind of felt bad for him

 **[14:02] Ouma Kokichi:** i obviously told him i wasn’t interested

 **[14:02] Ouma Kokichi:** after all my heart belongs to saihara-chan and saihara-chan only!!!

**[14:11] Ouma Kokichi:** oh also about that accident in your office; at least you didn’t spill my awesome drink but only your colleague’s tea!!!

**[14:50] Saihara Shuichi:** That doesn’t really make it better

 **[14:50] Saihara Shuichi:** :(

 **[14:51] Saihara Shuichi:** Also uh I hope he’ll leave you alone from now on?

 **[14:57] Ouma Kokichi:** hm me too

**[17:48] Saihara Shuichi:** _[Image attached]_

 **[17:50] Ouma Kokichi:** did saihara-chan just send me a picture of a dog?

 **[17:52] Saihara Shuichi:** That’s a cat and you know it is

 **[17:52] Ouma Kokichi:** heh i’m just messing w you

 **[17:52] Ouma Kokichi:** it’s so cute can we adopt it

 **[17:52] Saihara Shuichi:** .........

 **[17:53] Ouma Kokichi:** what?

**[20:43] Ouma Kokichi:** wait so the guy you like just died????

 **[20:51] Saihara Shuichi:** Yeah

 **[20:52] Saihara Shuichi:** :(

 **[20:52] Ouma Kokichi:** stop it w the sad faces

 **[20:52] Saihara Shuichi:** But it represents my emotions fairly well

 **[20:54] Ouma Kokichi:** you’re such a dork

 **[20:54] Saihara Shuichi:** :,(

 **[20:54] Ouma Kokichi:** oh great now it’s crying

**[21:38] Saihara Shuichi:** Oh he got resurrected

 **[21:42] Ouma Kokichi:** what really

 **[21:42] Saihara Shuichi:** Yeah

 **[21:43] Saihara Shuichi:** Should’ve been obvious the longer I think about it

 **[21:43] Ouma Kokichi:** what kind of shitty show is this anyway

 **[21:43] Saihara Shuichi:** Says the person that watches lazytown religiously

 **[21:43] Ouma Kokichi:** hey don’t insult lazytown!!!

 **[21:43] Ouma Kokichi:** it’s a great show okay

 **[21:44] Saihara Shuichi:** Sure whatever

 **[21:44] Ouma Kokichi:** you’re just uncultured

 **[21:44] Ouma Kokichi:** just go continue watching your weird show

**[23:21] Ouma Kokichi:** since saihara-chan didn’t manage to bring me muffins today am i allowed to stay up longer

 **[23:21] Saihara Shuichi:** No

 **[23:22] Ouma Kokichi:** but i don’t even have work tomorrow!!

 **[23:22] Saihara Shuichi:** Still no

 **[23:22] Ouma Kokichi:** but

 **[23:22] Saihara Shuichi:** >:|

 **[23:22] Ouma Kokichi:** okok no angry faces saihara-chan i’m already half asleep

 **[23:23] Saihara Shuichi:** :)

 **[23:23] Ouma Kokichi:** once again; why are you like this

 **[23:24] Saihara Shuichi:** Once again; good night Ouma-kun

Friday

**[10:48] Ouma Kokichi:** good morninggg

 **[10:48] Ouma Kokichi:** sorry i only just read all your messages i slept until now

 **[10:49] Ouma Kokichi:** so the guy kept denying everything?

 **[10:49] Ouma Kokichi:** what an idiot

 **[10:49] Ouma Kokichi:** he should’ve realised saihara-chan would just uncover his petty crimes anyway!!

**[11:42] Saihara Shuichi:** Thank you?

 **[11:45] Ouma Kokichi:** you’re welcome<3<3

 **[11:47] Saihara Shuichi:** But yeah it was a bit uncomfortable to say the least

 **[11:47] Saihara Shuichi:** We’re on our way back to the office now

 **[11:47] Ouma Kokichi:** i’m making myself fried eggs

 **[11:48] Saihara Shuichi:** ...Please be careful Ouma-kun

 **[11:48] Ouma Kokichi:** i’m always careful!!!

 **[11:48] Ouma Kokichi:** i never burn things

 **[11:48] Saihara Shuichi:** That’s a terrible lie you literally burned your sauce the other day and you even managed to burn your rice yesterday as well

 **[11:48] Ouma Kokichi:** you’re so mean saihara-chan

**[12:13] Ouma Kokichi:** fine i burn my food a lot

 **[12:13] Ouma Kokichi:** probably cause i’m so hot

 **[12:16] Saihara Shuichi:** .......

 **[12:16] Saihara Shuichi:** That’s low, even for you Ouma-kun

 **[12:17] Saihara Shuichi:** Plus I bet you only said that cause you just burned your egg

 **[12:20] Ouma Kokichi:** so mean...

**[14:33] Saihara Shuichi:** I wish I could have something like that

 **[14:40] Ouma Kokichi:** tomorrow saihara-chan, tomorrow

 **[14:41] Saihara Shuichi:** Hopefully

 **[14:43] Ouma Kokichi:** and you already picked a restaurant?

 **[14:43] Saihara Shuichi:** Yes I did

 **[14:43] Saihara Shuichi:** It’s actually pretty close to your workplace maybe you’ve been there before

 **[14:43] Ouma Kokichi:** ooooo are you gonna tell me the name?

 **[14:44] Saihara Shuichi:** No

 **[14:44] Ouma Kokichi:** so mean :,((((

 **[14:44] Saihara Shuichi:** I’m not mean Ouma-kun I just want it to be a surprise

 **[14:44] Ouma Kokichi:** pfffft fine whatever u fork

 **[14:44] Ouma Kokichi:** *dork

 **[14:45] Ouma Kokichi:** well fork works as well

 **[14:48] Saihara Shuichi:** I don’t know what to reply to that

 **[14:48] Saihara Shuichi:** But if i’m a fork you’re a small spoon

 **[14:50] Ouma Kokichi:** i think we both know i’d be the big spoon if anything

 **[14:51] Saihara Shuichi:** No you wouldn’t

 **[14:51] Ouma Kokichi:** yes i would

 **[14:51] Saihara Shuichi:** Ouma-kun you’re literally like 20cm shorter than me

 **[14:51] Saihara Shuichi:** It hypothetically speaking wouldn’t even make sense

 **[14:51] Ouma Kokichi:** meanie

 **[14:51] Ouma Kokichi:** fine i’ll be the small spoon

 **[14:51] Ouma Kokichi:** if you’re a bad big spoon we switch tho

 **[14:51] Ouma Kokichi:** hypothetically speaking of course

 **[14:52] Saihara Shuichi:** Sure

 **[14:52] Saihara Shuichi:** Hypothetically

**[17:06] Ouma Kokichi:** saihara-chan i rlly want a cat

 **[17:08] Saihara Shuichi:** Is this because of yesterday?

 **[17:08] Ouma Kokichi:** maybe

 **[17:09] Saihara Shuichi:** You know if you really wanted a cat you could get one

 **[17:09] Saihara Shuichi:** You’re old enough

 **[17:09] Ouma Kokichi:** but my landlord doesn’t allow pets (︺︹︺)

 **[17:11] Saihara Shuichi:** Oh well

 **[17:11] Saihara Shuichi:** You could always move?

 **[17:13] Saihara Shuichi:** How do you manage to live in such an expensive place anyway

 **[17:13] Saihara Shuichi:** Do you have a secret business or something I should be aware of??

 **[17:17] Ouma Kokichi:** hm no i don’t but my brother does

 **[17:17] Saihara Shuichi:** Your brother?

 **[17:17] Ouma Kokichi:** yup my big old brother bought the place for me

 **[17:17] Saihara Shuichi:** Alright

 **[17:17] Ouma Kokichi:** so moving is out of the question for now

 **[17:18] Ouma Kokichi:** don’t want him to get sad you know he gets whiny reaaaaally fast

 **[17:20] Saihara Shuichi:** I guess that makes sense

**[21:22] Ouma Kokichi:** _[Image attached]_

 **[21:25] Saihara Shuichi:** That looks violent

 **[21:25] Ouma Kokichi:** i told you it was

 **[21:25] Ouma Kokichi:** buuut

 **[21:26] Ouma Kokichi:** it’s actually really good

 **[21:26] Saihara Shuichi:** As long as you don’t stay up too long watching it

 **[21:26] Saihara Shuichi:** You have work tomorrow remember

 **[21:26] Ouma Kokichi:** what are you, my mom? >:(

 **[21:27] Saihara Shuichi:** Fortunately I’m not

 **[21:27] Ouma Kokichi:** whaaaaa so mean saihara-chan!!

**[23:55] Ouma Kokichi:** alright good night mom

 **[23:55] Ouma Kokichi:** sorry *saihara-chan

 **[23:58] Saihara Shuichi:** I’m rolling my eyes right now just so you know

 **[23:58] Saihara Shuichi:** But good night to you too Ouma-kun

 **[23:59] Saihara Shuichi:** :)

Saturday

**[00:00] Ouma Kokichi:** <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and no, this is not turning into a chatfic either im like,, way too unfunny for that but heyy writing this was still kind of fun ･ᴗ･


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “O-oh I’m sorry that wasn’t my intention you ah just looked like you were going to leave and I sort of...”
> 
> A giggle interrupts him and Shuichi wants to melt here and now because god he’s so far deep in already this can’t be possible-
> 
> “Hmm don’t worry about it I liked it just... try to warn me next time okay?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me: yea guys i have exams soon so idk abt writing n updating weekly  
> also me: *writes nearly 3 chapters in a week*

From the moment Shuichi woke and stared at the short, last message Ouma-kun had sent him his feelings have been a complete and utter mess, ranging from anxiety and worry to anticipation and excitement (and maybe with some rather embarrassing feelings in between).

He doesn’t have work today unlike the waiter so there really isn’t a lot to distract himself with. Sure he could read a book, solve some cases or watch a show but Shuichi knows for a fact that unless the book is good enough it won’t be able to distract him properly.

So he settles on cleaning his apartment and sorting out various drawers instead.

Luckily that alone takes him all morning and well into the evening but the detective still manages to finish earlier than expected. Shuichi sighs and decides to make himself some tea, maybe that will help calm him down?

He could also text Ouma-kun but the longer he thinks about it the more it seems like a rather counterproductive action to take. Most of his thoughts were already involving the waiter somehow and he really doesn’t need additional ones careening through his head.

Shuichi eventually decides to just text Kaede instead. He’s been meaning to contact her anyway regarding the clothes he’ll pick later, as he really doesn’t have a sense for anything involving fashion, always opting for the rather simple and comfortable things instead. Meanwhile Ouma-kun seems to be the exact opposite; always wearing sweaters and sneakers with rather exciting colours and ripped jeans that didn’t really look too comfortable. It looked good on him though, in a weird sort of way.

The detective shakes his head as he realises where or _who_ exactly his thoughts are drifting towards once again and hits send on the message he’d just typed out.

 **[15:55] Saihara Shuichi:** Hey Kaede! Can you by chance help me with something?

Unsurprisingly it doesn’t take long for her to respond. It never has in the past, disregarding of how busy or packed her schedule was at the time.

 **[15:56] Akamatsu Kaede:** Sure, what’s up?  
 **[15:56] Saihara Shuichi:** I kind of need help with picking clothes  
 **[15:56] Saihara Shuichi:** You know my fashion sense isn’t anything extraordinary  
 **[15:56] Akamatsu Kaede:** Yeah I’m sadly aware  
 **[15:56] Akamatsu Kaede:** Wait is this for your date?  
 **[15:57] Saihara Shuichi:** ...Yes  
 **[15:57] Akamatsu Kaede:** Alright, best friend Kaede at your service!!

Shuichi releases a breath he hadn’t even realised he’d been holding and smiles at his screen. God bless his best friend.

So he ends up picking a variety of clothes, sending pictures of them to Kaede and then receiving (more or less) helpful feedback. It feels like a weird cycle that keeps repeating itself; Shuichi picking some clothes he thinks would fit, him sending Kaede a picture of some combination and her eventually disapproving.

It takes around an hour before he finally manages to find something that satisfies the both of them (more or less, once again) and he’s admittedly just glad it’s finally over. Honestly, who would’ve guessed picking clothes could be this complicated-

The outfit that’s now displayed on his black blanket consists of a navy blue cashmere sweater which he genuinely had forgotten even existed (his mother had gifted it to him last Christmas claiming its ‘high quality’ and from some expansive brand Shuichi had never even heard of before), a black dress shirt, black pants (that were a bit too tight for his liking but for some reason Kaede had insisted) and a pair of black boots he’s never actually worn before.

 **[16:43] Saihara Shuichi:** And you’re sure about this?  
 **[16:44] Saihara Shuichi:** I really don’t know about the pants...  
 **[16:44] Akamatsu Kaede:** It’s perfect trust me

Shuichi knows there’s no room to argue, besides, it’s not like he actually has a better idea. So he just thanks Kaede for helping him pick something and decides to take another shower in order to pass the time.

The detective spares the clothes on his bed a wary glance before sighing and making his way to the bathroom.

-

It’s half an hour before he’s supposed to meet the other and Shuichi swears his nerves will be the death of him. He’s this close to just texting Ouma-kun and saying he can’t make it but the detective knows how foolish that would be and the exact opposite of what he actually wants, so he aims to tell his brain to just shut up for once instead (to no avail, really).

Still, he somehow manages to put on his dark grey coat and leave the apartment to make his way over to the cafe they agreed to meet up at.

Shuichi would like to say that his walk is spent in peace and pleasant anticipation but that would be a lie.

Thoughts and self-doubt are running through his head, asking him if this was really the right call to make, if the restaurant he’d picked was even adequate or if he’d just misjudged the whole situation after all? And the clothes he’s wearing, god don’t the pants he’s wearing look ridiculous? Maybe he should’ve tried arguing with Kaede after all...

It’s not like he can blame all of it entirely on his vivid imagination as Shuichi notices that he does indeed receive more looks than usual on his way to meet the other (is there something on his face as well? Oh god he’s an adult why is he like this-).

His thoughts skid to a sudden stop when he sees a certain purple haired figure, clad in an oversized black coat and a scarf he’s all too familiar with, standing in front of his destination.

Ouma-kun doesn’t seem to have noticed the detective so far as he’s busy typing something on his phone and so Shuichi just ends up exhaling in relief before quickening his pace.

As soon as he’s standing a few feet away from the other Ouma-kun rips his head away from the device and shoots Shuichi a wide grin. “Took you long enough Saihara-chan! I’ve been waiting here for so long, you don’t want me to freeze to death do you?”

Sweat starts building on his forehead, had he really taken this long to get here? Was Ouma-kun mad at him now? God maybe this was a mistake after all and he should’ve just stayed at ho-

“Hey Saihara-chan I was just messing with you,” Ouma-kun looks at him with such a concerned expression Shuichi has to blink a few times in order to assure himself that it’s actually real and he hasn’t started imagining things yet. The waiter is slightly leaning towards him and has one of his tiny hands on the detective’s arm and Shuichi starts blushing involuntarily out of embarrassment at the current situation.

“Yeah um I’m sorry I’ve just-“

“It’s fine don’t worry! Now,” he loops one of his arms around the detective’s, “I’ll tell you all about the weird customers I saw today while we make our way to the restaurant, okay?”

The detective exhales as he immediately feels at ease and nods slightly in approval, even though he knows the other can’t actually see the gesture due to their current position.

Ouma-kun fills their short walk over to the restaurant with chatter and giggles and Shuichi finds himself laughing along with him a few times, listening and talking to the waiter was just so easy, so natural, it nearly came as easy as breathing to him at this point.

The street they’re currently on isn’t too crowded either, maybe due to the colder temperatures Tokyo is experiencing at the moment. It’s already dark outside so their surroundings are only illuminated by the seemingly hundred brightly lit decorations around them, they’re on a street with a lot of restaurants and cafes so it only seems rational for there to be that many.

The people they do encounter mostly consist of couples around their age, most of them seeming entirely content and completely indulged in their own conversations. He ends up smiling against his will at the smaller boy’s excited chatter next to him and at the other’s arm still looped around his own.

Not being able to keep himself from thinking about how nice the whole situation actually is, Shuichi mentally curses himself for freaking out that much earlier and makes a vow to keep himself from doing so in the future when there’s really no reason to.

As soon as they come to a stop in front of the familiar Italian restaurant he’d visited the other day in order to book a table, the waiter next to him freezes for a split second but just ends up shooting Shuichi a smile when the detective looks at him in question. Eventually he just vaguely shakes his head and entangles his arm in order to open the door for the other.

They’re enveloped in warmth and loud chatter as they step into the facility and a waitress behind a wooden podium next to the entrance greets them cheerfully as they step inside. Shuichi smiles at the welcome and informs her on the table he’s booked to which she nods in approval and guides them to a corner at the far back.

To his pleasure the interior of the restaurant truthfully looks as nice and welcoming as the last time he’d been here. Shuichi had visited once in the past and really enjoyed the food but had simply never gotten around to pay the restaurant another visit.

From the moment Ouma-kun had sent him a picture of his rather disastrous looking italian dish though, the idea of taking him to the restaurant hadn’t left the detective’s head. Maybe he’d even been here before? It’s not located too far from the other’s workplace so it would seem like a likely option.

On their way to their table Shuichi has the feeling that Ouma-kun is kind of... hiding behind him though?

He frowns at the other but the purple haired waiter either doesn’t notice or decides to just ignore him instead.

As they ultimately manage to stop in front of their assigned table and each start taking off their respective coats, Shuichi starts noticing what exactly the other is wearing.

Ouma-kun is dressed in black trousers with no rips or holes in them for once (Shuichi is secretly proud) and a white dress shirt underneath a purple blazer with rolled up, checkered sleeves. In addition the waiter is wearing checkered converse which match the former and his hair is pulled back in a ponytail, held together by a black bow and a few loose strands of hair framing his face.

All in all he honestly looks gorgeous and Shuichi feels his cheeks heat up as he can’t seem to stop thinking about how pretty the other actually is, _god what had he gotten himself into?_

Apparently Ouma-kun seems to take notice of his baffled staring though, as he shoots the detective a sly grin in response before taking his seat.

It seems as if in addition to the previous gesture Ouma-kun is actually about to say something but he’s stopped abruptly when a person’s loud gasp next to their table redirects his attention.

His eyes widen for a second before his face morphs into his typical grin so fast Shuichi ponders over whether he’d just imagined it.

“Hmm so are you going to serve us today?”

“Non comportarti come se non fosse successo niente.”

_What?_

The waitress next to them looks close to upset as she practically spits the words at the other and Shuichi finds himself at a loss for what to do. Evidently he doesn’t have to though, as Ouma-kun places a hand on his heart and pouts at the waitress.

“Non ho fatto niente!”

The other just scoffs loudly before mumbling something under her breath and stalking off. Grinning in a satisfied manner Ouma-kun eventually turns back to Shuichi.

“There she goes...”

Shuichi finds himself frowning. “Um, Ouma-kun what just happened-“

“Hm?,” the other leans towards him and puts his head in his hand, “I didn’t do anything. As you clearly saw she just started talking in italian for no reason, god I don’t even know italian!”

“Uh you answered her though.”

“Guess you caught another one of my lies!”

Ouma-kun giggles at him and Shuichi starts growing more and more irritated. What was up with the other? How did he even know the waitress and more importantly, how did she know him? And what were they even talking about in the first place-

The detective is quickly startled out of his thoughts when a large figure approaches their table and stops right next to them. The new stranger is most likely the chef of the restaurant which Shuichi concludes due to his clothing and confident aura and the detective quickly starts to panic. Oh god what had the other done to-

_Wait._

“Ah hello Chef! What brings you here?”

“You— Didn’t I tell you not to visit my restaurant until you’ve apologised?”

Ouma-kun starts pouting and Shuichi can immediately make out tears swimming in his eyes. “So mean! I didn’t do anything wrong you know...”

“Didn’t do anything wrong? The last time you visited you told me my fettuccine al pomodoro was bad, that you could cook it way better and then you send me _that_?!”

Shuichi faintly notices how a variety of heads are beginning to turn in their direction at the loud exchange and the urge to do at least _something_ gets even stronger. “Um I’m sorry about him? I’m sure he didn’t mean it that way?”

Ouma-kun just giggles at him. “Saihara-chan is so cute! Don’t worry Regio-chan and I are best friends so he’s not actually mad!”

That seems to get the chefs attention as he whips his head around to look at Shuichi and his features soften immediately. “Spiacente! I’m sorry! You probably know what he’s like,” he takes a deep sigh and smiles at the detective. “Let me go get Lucia and she’ll take your orders immediately, and you,” he jabs a finger at the waiter, “we’ll talk about this later.”

“Sure sure!”

Ouma-kun grins at him and the Chef rolls his eyes before walking off.

“Uhh.”

“Oh dear you must be so confused, let me explain!”

It turns out that Ouma-kun typically visits the restaurant a lot since he’s friends with the latter and his family who partly works at the restaurant as well. It’s actually a family owned business which surprises Shuichi less than it should after all... that.

“So he was the one you sent that thing to?”

“Hey! It wasn’t even that bad!”

Suddenly Shuichi can’t seem to hold it in anymore and he starts laughing, partly due to the whole ridiculousness of the situation but partly because he’s just so relieved nothing genuinely bad had happened. It doesn’t take long until Ouma-kun’s pout turns into laughter and they end up just sitting there, laughing way too loudly until the waitress from earlier returns.

She seems less agitated than earlier which Shuichi takes as a good sign and they order their respective drinks before she walks off.

“Do you already know what you’ll order Ouma-kun?”

“Hmm I’ll probably have the Paccheri al Forno and you Saihara-chan?”

“I uh thought about spaghetti with seafood?”

Ouma-kun appears to contemplate the detective’s answer for a second before seemingly nodding in approval. “Yes yes that’s a good choice.”

Proceeding to fall into conversation as easily as on their walks, they end up talking about a variety of things. Recent events (like some of Shuichi’s cases or Ouma-kun’s weirdest customers in the past days he hadn’t told him about yet), some scandals regarding musicians and actors they liked or political themes, but whatever direction their conversation takes, it comes natural and they ultimately receive their food faster than expected. Even now Ouma-kun apparently still has more to share but so does Shuichi, so even then their conversation doesn’t seem to die out completely.

Eventually after their meals have been consumed and their glasses emptied, the Chef from earlier returns, scolding the other once again but ultimately wishing them a nice evening.

Shuichi nearly doesn’t notice that he isn’t even being asked to pay before leaving.

Of course as soon as he does, he insists, which the Chef- (Regio-san he reminds himself) proceeds to decline for whatever reason. Maybe he just really wants them to leave as soon as possible (at least that’s what Ouma-kun keeps stressing).

They’re currently on their walk back through the dark of the night and the additional glow of streetlights lighting up their way. Conversation had drifted into blissful silence as soon as they’d stepped outside, but here, walking beside one another while holding hands, neither of them honestly seem to mind.

And so they eventually come to a stop in front of Shuichi’s apartment complex.

Letting go off his hand, Ouma-kun moves to stand in front of Shuichi and shoots him a small smile.

“Alriight then mister detective I guess this is it! This was actually less boring with you than anticipated!”

Shuichi just shakes his head and reciprocates the smile. “Well that’s all that matters then.”

(He doesn’t know if his mind is playing tricks on him but he could swear Ouma-kun’s cheeks turn a light tinge of red.)

Despite that neither of them make a move, instead just standing in front of eachother rather than saying their respective goodbyes and leaving. Shuichi is actually surprised the waiter hasn’t yet, since he’d always been the one to get going rather quickly in the past, always leaving the detective to call out to him.

But now he’s just standing in front of Shuichi, peering into his eyes from below and the detective finds himself doing the same.

He notices the tiny, faint freckles dusted underneath the other’s purple eyes and how a few locks of purple hair are draped over his forehead, moving slightly in the breeze. Shuichi also realises how dark the others lashes actually are, framing the rich violet of his eyes beautifully and Shuichi starts to wonder...

“Ouma-kun can I ask you a question?”

His voice leaves him in a bare whisper, nearly too quiet to understand, but those seas of purple widen curiously for a split second, indicating that he’d heard the question nonetheless.

“Sure.”

Ouma-kun’s voice is just as quiet, apparently not daring to destroy whatever trance the both of them currently found eachother in.

Shuichi’s eyes roam his face once again, travelling down to pink lips that look slightly bitten but entirely soft nonetheless.

Still his gaze snaps up to the pair of violet eyes he’s come to adore in the past weeks.

“What is your other natural eye colour?”

The question doesn’t seem to be what the waiter had expected as he ends up blinking a few times before furrowing his brows. Nonetheless he manages to fix the perplexed look currently occupying his face rather quickly and just shoots Shuichi another smile which doesn’t seem to reach his eyes this time though.

“Something my beloved detective might never find out,” the familiar nickname which always used to send Shuichi’s heart flying in the past seems to have the exact opposite effect now as it’s laced with a bitter undertone and the detective starts to realise what he’s done.

Shaking his head slightly the other takes a step back in order to turn around and Shuichi realises that he’ll leave, that he’s probably ruined something, and the urge to keep the other here, to see the genuineness of his smile and to hear the soft giggle of his laugh once again drowns everything else out completely. His heart is racing like crazy and before Shuichi registers what exactly he’s doing he’s taking a step forward and pressing his lips on pink, chapped ones.

It seems like an eternity before the other moves slightly, a small hand moving to cup and redirect his face in order to make the angle less awkward. Soft lips move against his own, reciprocating the kiss and god he’s actually doing this isn’t he-

But it feels so _good_ and Shuichi swears he could get lost in the whole sensation but they evidently have to part (as breathing is a thing) and he finds himself yearning for contact almost immediately (it’s kind of pathetic, really).

Ouma-kun’s eyes are blown and he’s scanning the detective’s face obviously looking for something, before the waiter closes them completely and lets himself stumble forward in order to bury his head in Shuichi’s coat.

The waiter is mumbling something which Shuichi can’t make out due to the fabric blocking the other’s face and he ends up laughing hopelessly. “Ouma-kun I really can’t understand a word of what you’re saying.”

Shifting, the waiter reveals his face in order to pout up at the detective adorably and he can feel his heart skip at the familiar expression. “I said how dare Saihara-chan just kiss me like that and then actually be so good at it. It’s really not fair, you can’t just surprise me like that...”

“O-oh I’m sorry that wasn’t my intention you ah just looked like you were going to leave and I sort of...”

A giggle interrupts him and Shuichi wants to melt here and now because _god he’s so far deep in already this can’t be possible-_

“Hmm don’t worry about it I liked it just... try to warn me next time okay?”

Shuichi nods at him dumbly which earns him a small (but genuine, he can’t help but notice) smile in return. Now, Ouma-kun really does take a step back in order to turn around and leave but none of the previous panic is present this time.

“I guess I’ll see you soon Saihara-chan, sleep well my beloved!”

Shuichi nods and waves at him as Ouma-kun turns back around shortly before making his way back the way they came from.

“You too Ouma-kun.”

He’s probably too far away to hear but Shuichi can’t bring himself to care. A sense of déjà vu overtakes him as he moves his hand to brush over his lips and a smile overtakes his face.

-

The weird but blissful feeling akin to a sort of trance he’s been experiencing ever since he’d kissed the other dissolves rather quickly as Shuichi enters the hallway of his apartment and the realisation of the whole situation comes crashing down.

He likes Ouma-kun he figures, romantically even, and the other probably even reciprocates his feelings (at least that’s what he assumes after... everything) and that should make him happy, keep him on his weird high, but of course it wasn’t going to last, never had the chance to, because he’s still not a single step closer to figuring the other out, to figuring out the whole reason he’d approached him in the first place.

Because Ouma Kokichi was still carrying around too many secrets and lies for his own good.

It might just be nothing, he knows that. A harmless lie about his workplace and university. But something about it just didn’t make sense, you could call it detective’s intuition or whatever but it just simply didn’t. Even the explanation for his apartment which he’d allegedly received from his older brother made no sense to the detective (Shuichi had briefly tried looking for a business owned by someone by the name of Ouma-kun but had surprisingly found absolutely nothing).

But still, he wants this to work. He wants to figure the other out, to get to know Ouma-kun better because surely not everything regarding the other could be a lie. Not the softness of his laugh, not the sparkle in his eyes whenever he gets excited about something and practically buzzes to tell Shuichi about it and not the small but genuine smile he sometimes graces the detective with. Ouma-kun is a mystery, a dangerous one at that maybe, but Shuichi is going to figure him out and maybe even help him, not only because he wants to but because it’s his job.

As he sits down at his desk, gets out a piece of paper and a variety of pens and opens his laptop he keeps repeating the same sentence over and over inside his head.

That he’s not just doing this in order to solve and uncover the mystery behind another case, but that he’s doing it for the both for them.

At least that’s what he tells himself as he writes down note after note on the white sheet in front of him, filling out nearly every corner and sitting at his desk until well into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so much fluFff pls i love these two,, this might or might not be the last fluffy chapter for a while tho don’t hit me pls <\3


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “B-But he told me we’d meet after his shift?”
> 
> Shuichi begins growing more and more confused, none of this made sense to him. Surely Ouma-kun wouldn’t agree to meet up with him just to disappear the same day?
> 
> Iruma-san just rolls her eyes though and makes a move to grab her apron. “So what? Not like the damn brat ever tells me when he’s gonna disappear. He just returns after a few days and that’s it. Grins at me with his little shit eating grin and doesn’t say a word about where he’s been or why.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was initially supposed to be two chapters (for whatever reason) but i put them together so this is kind of long yay! (for my standards at least ok)

_ Rays of sunshine are blinding and thus occupying his sight and Shuichi blinks a few times in order to adjust his vision. _

_ Clouds are slowly making their way in front of the shining sun and he finds it a bit easier to take in his surroundings after a few passing moments. _

_ The sky is bright blue and seemingly endless. It appears infinite as it stretches over the entire horizon, occupying every tiny speck of his vision. _

_ He can’t seem to move his head but he finds himself at ease and with no intention to actually do so. Why should he? It’s nice here. _

_ It’s so bright, so blue, so  peaceful Shuichi just wants to close his eyes and enjoy the moment. _

_ Suddenly there’s something- no, someone occupying his vision. Strands of purple frame the face of a person he’s come to adore and his heart speeds up even though he simultaneously still feels weirdly at ease. _

_ “Hm Saihara-chan, are you letting your mind wander again? Isn’t there something you have to do?” _

_ Something... he has to do? _

_ He wants to ask what the other means, what he could possibly be referring to but no words leave his mouth and the sky behind Ouma-kun starts turning darker and darker. _

_ Ouma-kun’s face is still hovering above him and Shuichi feels his brows furrow in confusion. “Saihara-chan?” _

_ The other’s face morphs into one of confusion, probably mimicking his own and panic overtakes him. _

_ The sky starts darkening more and more, ultimately leaving them both in complete darkness. _

_ Shuichi can’t see anything, the only thing he hears is the other’s breathing close to his own. _

_ But that seems to be enough, enough to calm his nerves moderately. _

_ Shuichi wants to open his mouth to say something, what exactly he doesn’t know, but he knows he wants to. Despite that no words leave him, but still he feels at ease, knowing that the other is right here next to him. _

_ And suddenly the breathing stops. _

Shuichi shoots upright, breathing heavily while his mind feels foggy and disorganised. His heart seems to run a mile a minute and he sits in silence for a few moments in order to catch his breath.

He knows he’d dreamt something, what exactly he can’t remember though.

Shaking his head he decides to get up and take a shower, maybe that would help calm him down additionally. Though the water is ice cold at first the detective decides to get under the steady flowing stream of water anyway. Shuichi nearly doesn’t feel the coldness, his mind still too foggy to properly process anything.

What had he dreamt about?

Regardless of how much Shuichi tries to rack his brain he can’t seem to remember anything. The whole situation is weird and unusual; his dreams had never affected him that much in the past and the fact that he’d woken panicky and out of breath doesn’t make the whole thing any less weird.

The slowly heating water hits his skin and Shuichi decides to just breathe and organise his thoughts. Surely constantly thinking about this wouldn’t make anything any better.

Ultimately he steps out of the shower, the faint scent of peppermint surrounding him. He grabs a fluffy towel from one of the cupboards in his bathroom and towels his hair and body moderately dry before putting on some random sweatpants and grey shirt he’s owned for seemingly decades now.

Nonetheless the incident from earlier won’t seem to leave his brain.

The detective sighs and pads into the kitchen across the bedroom he’s currently standing in, deciding to make himself some tea instead of his morning cup of coffee. Maybe that will help?

The jingle of his phone rips him out of his thoughts and he startles slightly before grabbing the nearby device and answering the call without looking at the name displayed on his screen seconds prior.

“H-Hello?”

“Hey Shuichi what’s up? Just wanted to call and see how you were doing and to check if Thursday still stands?”

“Th-Thursday? O-Oh uh yea sure you’re still going to text me the address right?”

“Yeah man Harumaki and I haven’t decided yet so you know... By the way, are you okay? You sound a bit... off.”

Was it really that obvious?

Cursing Shuichi just raises his voice again in a hopefully reassuring manner, “Don’t worry I just woke up that’s probably why.”

“You just woke up?! Dude I know you sleep way too long on Sundays but it’s 3pm?”

_ What? No way- _

“Yeah I’m surprised myself, you didn’t even notice?”

Shuichi mentally curses himself for the second time that day as he realises he’d just said that out loud.

“I uh fell asleep at my desk again um work and stuff that’s probably why.”

He can make out a sigh on the other end of the line. “Shuichi you can’t just stay up working everyday that’s just not healthy. I gotta look after my sidekick properly you know?”

“Yeah don’t worry about it. I’m fine, really.”

A pause.

Shuichi starts growing more and more anxious. Seriously, what was _wrong_ with him?

“Okay man whatever you say... I’ll see you on Thursday.”

His best friend hangs up without another word and Shuichi can hear himself sighing in relief.

-

**[10:55] Akamatsu Kaede:** Hey Shuichi!! You didn’t tell me how your date went :(

**[10:57] Akamatsu Kaede:** I’m hoping it went well?

**[15:42] Saihara Shuichi:** Sorry for the late reply!

**[15:44] Saihara Shuichi:** It did go well though, really well actually :)

**[15:46] Akamatsu Kaede:** Aw Shuichi that’s great! So are you two like dating now or..?

**[15:49] Saihara Shuichi:** I kind of don’t know?

**[15:50] Akamatsu Kaede:** You don’t know? Well didn’t you two talk about it?

**[15:50] Saihara Shuichi:** Not really

**[15:52] Akamatsu Kaede:** Then what are you waiting for?

Good question. The detective doesn’t know whether it’s the fact that he’s too anxious, that the other hasn’t texted him since they parted ways or that his weird dream is still occupying most of his thoughts and keeping him from doing literally anything else.

But maybe he should just get over himself and text Ouma-kun? Just the thought of the other makes him feel... _off_ though. He can’t place it but Shuichi feels like he’s missing something regarding the other.

After pondering over the whole thing for a few moments he decides to just get over himself and text the other. What could be the worst thing to happen?

**[16:05] Saihara Shuichi:** Hey Ouma-kun

Okay how should he approach this- To be honest the thought of discussing this over text doesn’t really appeal to him in the least... Maybe he could ask the other to meet up with him?

**[16:07] Saihara Shuichi:** Do you want to talk about um everything really tomorrow or Tuesday maybe?

**[16:09] Saihara Shuichi:** There are just some things I’d like to say but texting feels so impersonal I guess?

Oh god what was he doing-

Deciding to just shut off his phone before he ends up making this any worse he gets up and walks the way over to his office. Maybe he could clean up a bit after last night, the room did look rather disastrous after all.

-

The cleaning eventually ends up being more thorough than planned and Shuichi swears there’s not a single spot or dust particle left in the room. Just as he’s about to grab some water in order to water the small plant on his desk his laptop lights up with a small notification in the corner.

Shuichi flops down on his chair, types in his password and is greeted with the sight of an unread email.

Quickly he clicks on it, deciding that there’s really no reason to wait and narrows his eyes at the now opened mail occupying the screen of his laptop.

> **From:** SaitoKyouka@znl.com
> 
> **To:** SaiharaShuichi@wnl.com
> 
> **Subject:** New information regarding homicide case at the Kōun Casino [03/11/XX]
> 
> _ [5 Documents attached] _

What? Why would she send him that? Didn’t he declare he wouldn’t investigate any cases regarding the mysterious group of criminals any longer?

There’s nothing written in the mail, just the five documents attached to it. Maybe it was a mistake? Perhaps this wasn’t actually meant for him and Saito-san had sent it to him accidentally?

He knows he shouldn’t open those documents, after all there’s no point in looking at them, but curiosity eventually gets the best of him and the detective opens them before he can stop himself.

The first one is a detailed witness report of one of the cleaning ladies working at the casino on the second floor at the time of the homicide. Shuichi reads through it in a hast but ends up just feeling confused. There was nothing extraordinary or important in the whole document, just claims of having seen nothing eventful or unusual during the time of murder and shortly after. The witness had merely spotted a few visitors and that was it.

Without thinking about it for much longer the detective ends up opening the second document; A report regarding the state of the room the monitors connected to the countless of surveillance cameras were being stored in. He skims through it, finding nothing he didn’t know about in advance; the room was undamaged and only the missing footage at the time of murder could be found. Suddenly the detective stops.

Shuichi remembers that the question whether the footage had been taken manually or by hacking into the system had been left open and unanswered due to the lack of evidence.

But there, right at the bottom of the document is listed something in bold black letters revealing something he hadn’t known about yet: faint scratch marks on the room’s lock.

He knows that it could mean nothing, god knows for how long the casino has had that lock and perhaps they had just been caused by something else?

The detective clicks on the third document which seems to be the additional part of the one he’d just opened and continues reading with newfound enthusiasm.

Apparently the scratch marks could’ve only been caused during the night of the homicide as the locks for the rooms on the second floor had been replaced the same morning; either a stroke of luck or misfortune, depending on which side you were on.

The keys used for said door couldn’t’ve caused them and since the scratch marks are placed in a pretty unusual place the theory of them being caused during the transport was highly unlikely.

And that really only left one option; someone had lock-picked the door.

The last document is filled with a variety of pictures of said marks and the last one with receipts and details of the locks being replaced including the time and the usage of the additional keys.

After having read through all of them Shuichi let’s himself fall back into his chair while aiming to process the new information.

So someone had lock-picked the door, nothing major unusual. But the fact that the footage hadn’t actually been obtained by hacking into the system was indeed slightly unexpected. After all, that’s what the group nearly did on a weekly basis.

And the report of the cleaning lady could suggest- No, no he said he wouldn’t look into this any further.

Shaking his head Shuichi closes the laptop with more vigour than necessary before leaving his now clean office.

-

**[17:12] Ouma Kokichi:** hm? what does my beloved want to talk about?

**[17:13] Ouma Kokichi:** i have work tomorrow and tuesday buuut you could come pick me up on tuesday? you don’t work that long then do you?

**[17:44] Saihara Shuichi:** Well it depends it’s different every week but Tuesday should work... I have to stay longer tomorrow but if I do so I should be able to leave earlier on Tuesday

**[17:46] Saihara Shuichi:** 6pm again then?

**[17:53] Ouma Kokichi:** yup that should work!!

**[17:53] Ouma Kokichi:** how was your day so far saihara-chan?

**[17:54] Saihara Shuichi:** Kind of weird actually

**[17:54] Ouma Kokichi:** oh? why’s that?

And so Shuichi ends up telling Ouma-kun about the weird feelings involving his dream, the new information he’d been sent regarding a recent case (obviously leaving out anything major or important) and just everything in general. Before he even realises it it’s nearing midnight and the detective struggles to keep his eyes open any longer.

So Inevitably he ends up reluctantly turning off his phone, not wanting to actually stop texting the other but knowing it’s best if he went to sleep.

-

Besides being intrigued Shuichi decides not to mention the email Saito-san had sent him the previous day. There’s really no reason to, with him deciding to distance himself from the group of criminals and their collective crimes.

With that decision in mind he sends Ouma-kun a message after being the first to leave yesterday before making his short way to his office.

**[06:47] Saihara Shuichi:** Good morning Ouma-kun :)

Perhaps he wouldn’t even answer, it’s still pretty early in the morning after all. The detective decides to just shut off his phone and quickly finishes the rest of his walk.

The rest of the day is busy, as usual, and mostly spent with him and Saito-san conducting surveillance and him meeting up with two different clients.

Shuichi only really takes one break the whole day, too consumed in his work and Saito-san makes sure to scold him for it most of the day. The topic of Sunday’s email isn’t mentioned though and he’s honestly kind of glad.

It’s only when he gets home that he realises he hasn’t texted Ouma-kun the whole day.

**[09:11] Ouma Kokichi:** goood morning saihara-chan

**[09:11] Ouma Kokichi:** i totally cried after you left

**[09:13] Ouma Kokichi:** just kidding! i obviously didn’t

**[09:14] Ouma Kokichi:** alright i have to leave and wooork, miu wants something from me (￢ _ ￢)

The detective is actually surprised at the amount of previously unread messages displayed on his screen as it’s way less than initially expected. Perhaps the other was just busy working or something.

**[21:04] Saihara Shuichi:** Sorry I was tired

**[21:04] Saihara Shuichi:** How was your day?

As Shuichi opens the wooden door of his apartment he heaves a sigh and simultaneously pulls off his shoes and jacket. It’s been really cold again today, typical for November and while work had been eventful, it was stressful nonetheless.

He decides to just make himself another cup of tea, aiming to go to bed a bit earlier today. Hopefully Ouma-kun wouldn’t mind? Shuichi shakes his head, his sleep schedule really shouldn’t depend on the other.

So he ends up making something small to eat to go along with the warm beverage before taking a shower and falling into bed half-asleep already.

He nearly doesn’t notice that he hasn’t received a reply from the waiter so far.

But since his thoughts travel towards said waiter far more often than he’d like to admit, he does and can’t keep his brain from going into overdrive. It was rather unusual Shuichi has to admit, Ouma-kun was one to always respond rather fast around this time of day and he can’t keep himself from worrying.

Did something happen? Did his phone die? But surely he must be home by now, so should he just send him another message?

**[22:58] Saihara Shuichi:** Hey I hope you’re okay

Was that alright? He really didn’t want to seem clingy or anything of the sort...

**[22:59] Saihara Shuichi:** Good night Ouma-kun I’ll see you tomorrow

**[23:01] Saihara Shuichi:** :) <3

He shuts off his phone immediately after sending the last message, trying not to think about the meaning or content of it too much. It would probably be for the best if he just went to sleep, Shuichi would be able to check on the other after work tomorrow so he really should just stop worrying already.

-

Saying that the first thing Shuichi did after waking up Tuesday morning wasn’t to check his phone for any messages would be a lie cause that’s exactly what Shuichi did.

Still: no new messages from the other.

The detective tries not to let frustration get the best of him, maybe the waiter’s phone actually broke or something. He’d be able to check on him in a few hours anyway so there was really no reason to create a fuss.

At least that’s what he tells himself the whole day while Saito-san shoots him worrying looks but doesn’t raise her voice to ask. He’s lucky they’re working together the whole day, sure that on his own he wouldn’t’ve been able to, with his head feeling like cotton soaked in a puddle of worries and anxiety.

As soon as it’s 5:45pm Shuichi basically sprints out the door trying to reach the other’s workplace in time. It would be fine. Everything would be fine.

-

It’s currently 6:30pm and exactly half an hour since Shuichi has reached the familiar coffee shop and workplace of a certain purple haired waiter.

But still, he hasn’t come outside yet. Shuichi had tried peeking inside the brightly lit interior of the shop but even then he couldn’t identify a purple mop of hair and the anxiety he’d been trying to keep down all day is raging inside his head, his entire body, making him feel uneasy and on edge.

It’s been half an hour and Ouma-kun hasn’t come outside yet.

**[18:02] Saihara Shuichi:** I’m outside

**[18:16] Saihara Shuichi:** Ouma-kun?

**[18:31] Saihara Shuichi** : I’m going inside in ten minutes just so you know

None of the messages are displaying the familiar ‘read’ in the corner, in fact none since last morning had.

It’s 6:43pm when he finally gets up from the wooden bench across the coffee shop and heads inside.

The bell jingles quietly as he steps inside, and the detective is immediately scanning the room for the person he’s looking for.

“Hey Shyhara what’ya doing here?”

Shuichi is startled out of his thoughts when the familiar figure of Iruma-san steps in front of him, holding a tray filled with a few cups of various drinks.

“I uh came looking for Ouma-kun-“

“The shitty twink? He’s not in today.”

“He’s- Wait _what_?”

She just sighs dramatically, making the tray sway a bit in the process and bites her lip before raising her eyes to look at him.

“Look I have to get those fuckers over there their order but you can go in the break room which is,” she points her finger to the back of the room, “right over there on the right so just wait a second and I’ll be there shortly okay?”

The detective just nods stupidly before excusing himself and walking in the direction the blonde had pointed towards seconds prior.

He feels surprisingly empty and just ends up sitting down numbly on one of the brown plastic chairs, blinking a few times after doing so before continuing to take in his surroundings.

The detective is currently seated in a small room with a wooden floor, similar to the one in the main part of the building with white walls and a few posters stuck to said walls surrounding him. There’s a huge pinboard on the wall opposite from the door with loads of notes and pictures pinned to it and a big schedule listing the names of everyone working here and their respective shifts.

The table he’s sitting at is round and pretty big with brown plastic chairs spread all around it. Shuichi starts contemplating whether to go and actually read the schedule on the opposite wall when the door opens and Iruma-san comes bustling inside.

She pulls off the familiar white and brown apron of the shop and flings it over one of the nearby chairs before occupying the one right next to Shuichi. “So you’re looking for the tiny brat?”

“I uh y-yeah we were supposed to meet up after his shift. Doesn’t he have work today?”

She leans back in her chair and fumbles with one of her hair strands. “Oh he does but he didn’t show up.”

“He what?”

Iruma-san stops twirling her blond hair and slightly puffs out her cheeks while leaning towards him. “You know it’s really nothing unusual. The twink used to do that constantly, disappearing for a few days and then showing up again... He actually warned me about it before I employed him.”

Shuichi can feel his eyebrows raise to his hairline. “Y-You employed him? And he does that constantly?!”

“Yeah Shyhara that’s what I said isn't it? You know for a detective you’re kind of dense.”

The detective chokes on his spit before sending the other a sheepish smile. “S-sorry I’m just kind of surprised- I didn’t know you owned and managed the shop.”

A proud grin overtakes Iruma-san’s face before she leans back casually. “Yup mine and Kiibaby’s shop actually!”

“Y-You two are dating?”

“Engaged actually!” As if to prove the previous statement she raises her right hand in order to flash a diamond ring to Shuichi.

“Oh uh that’s great but uh can we like- get back to the previous topic?”

She rolls her eyes. “Right, happy intimate relationships make you uneasy I get it.”

“That’s not what I-“

“Anyway, yes the twink disappears for a few days sometimes. Happens. He hasn’t been doing it recently though so I’m kind of surprised he did it again, thought he stopped or something.”

“B-But he told me we’d meet after his shift?”

Shuichi begins growing more and more confused, none of this made sense to him. Surely Ouma-kun wouldn’t agree to meet up with him just to disappear the same day?

Iruma-san just rolls her eyes though and makes a move to grab her apron. “So what? Not like the damn brat ever tells me when he’s gonna disappear. He just returns after a few days and that’s it. Grins at me with his little shit eating grin and doesn’t say a word about where he’s been or why.”

“How long is a few days?”

“Hm, depends. Typically three to four. Sometimes just two. Never longer than a week though, that just happened once before but never again.”

The detective heaves a sigh and closes his eyes, trying to process the whole situation. He hears the blonde rustling about before Shuichi can hear the door opening and opens his eyes.

Iruma-san is standing at the door, seemingly biting her bottom lip in thought while contemplating something.

Apparently she reaches a conclusion as she reluctantly shifts her gaze towards Shuichi and narrows her eyes at him.

“Okay listen up Shyhara aka mister detective. I don’t know where Kokichi is or what he’s up to, admittedly he hasn’t been on his weird trips for nearly a year. So I’m kind of surprised myself that he vanished again,” now she closes her eyes for a split second before opening and narrowing them at the detective even stronger than before (kind of scary actually), “and I know that your gay detective ass probably cares about him, so! I’ll be going to show you our office and you can go through some documents, maybe you’ll figure something out. We really don’t have a lot and I know this is probably illegal or some shit but you’re a detective and care about the twink and I think he cares about you too so...

“Just- Just try and figure shit out okay? I really don’t want the twink to end up dead in a weird alley or something and I do feel like this time is different.”

Oh the irony.

Nonetheless Shuichi stumbles to his feet, following the blonde outside to the room next to them which seems to be the office Iruma-san had been talking about.

She unlocks and opens the door wordlessly and gestures for him to get inside.

“Once you’re done you can just leave or something, tell Kiibo to lock the door again though,” she sends him a small smile, “good luck Shyhara.”

The door closes with a thud and Shuichi stands in silence for a few seconds before turning around.

“Alright, here goes nothing.”

-

Unsurprisingly he leaves the coffee shop with little to no new information. Still, he hopes the few documents related to the waiter which he did manage to find will at least help him somehow.

He’s startled out of his thoughts when his phone chimes and he pulls it out hastily.

**[20:23] *unknown number*:** Oi Shyhara if you have questions you can just ask the genius girl inventor and coffee shop owner aka me!!!!

**[20:23] Saihara Shuichi:** Iruma-san?

**[20:24] Iruma Miu:** That’s my name mister detective, now get back to work!!!

_ I could say the same to you... _

Shuichi just pockets his phone and continues the familiar walk over to his apartment complex.

He’d browsed through the mess of an office earlier, trying to find some data related to the other which had taken quite a while with how messy the cramped little room was, but he’d gathered a file documenting the other’s name, date of birth, his academic past, address of his home and the general date when he’d started working at Iruma-san’s coffee shop.

Which was two years ago.

Maybe he should have been surprised that the assumed lie the other had told at the police department actually turned out to be one but he really wasn’t, he’d weirdly come to accept it in some way.

At least the age he’d provided wasn’t a lie, as his birthday noted the 21st of June, 23 years ago. His academic past only really stated that he’d gone to a university Shuichi had actually heard of before, due to a scholarship, but had broken off his studies after two years. Shortly after he’d started working at the familiar coffee shop.

Now came the most interesting part; The address. While the postal code provided hadn’t immediately struck a chord with Shuichi, the detective had been pretty sure it couldn’t belong to the apartment complex he’d visited the other day. He was mostly confident he knew the numbers of the neighbourhood he’d visited with Ouma-kun and those hadn’t been represented in the postal code in front of him. As Shuichi kept on reading his suspicions were vaguely confirmed as the listed subarea definitely wasn’t the one they’d visited days prior.

He’d taken a picture of the document quickly, aiming to think about all this once he got home, and had continued sorting through the papers in the office.

And now here he was; in front of his doorstep slamming his keys into the lock in front of him. The door opens with a quiet squeak and Shuichi slams the door shut as soon as he’s inside.

The entire day had been absolutely frustrating and he really just wants to lay down and sleep but the detective knows he won’t be able to, with his mind and thoughts seemingly running a mile a minute.

Still he promises himself to at least print the pictures of said documents and put them in his office.

He feels kind of dirty doing so, copying the waiter’s personal information and storing them in a drawer with the notes he’d written on the weekend and he realises once again that he doesn’t actually want to do this, doesn’t want to betray the other in some weird convoluted way like this but he reminds himself that he needs to do this, that it’s essential.

He wants the other to return and he wants to understand why left in the first place and in order for that to happen he’ll have to figure this out.

It’s already 11pm when he places the printed documents in the same drawer, not even bothering to turn on the light in the familiar office.

Shuichi silently hopes that the other will just return tomorrow while grinning at him and telling him off for being such an overreacting idiot but he has the bad feeling that his hopes won’t be fulfilled anytime soon.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He skims through it and stops upon reading the time frame for this week’s shift.
> 
> “Uh Iruma-san?”
> 
> “Hmmm? Did mister detective find something suspicious already?”
> 
> “The time of his shift- You said he didn’t show up yesterday? But he um it says here that he didn’t even have work.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there are mentions of anxiety and a lowkey anxiety attack included, just to warn some of you <3

**[11:35] Saihara Shuichi:** Can I come by again later today?

**[11:37] Iruma Miu:** Sure thing Shyhara

**[11:38] Iruma Miu:** Btw the twink didn’t show up today either

He really should’ve expected it. It still leaves him feeling disappointed though.

The detective knows it’s only been two days since he’d stopped hearing from the other and that he should be returning within the next few days, if Iruma-san’s word are anything to go by, but he still worries. Couldn’t imagine what it would be like not to worry.

That’s admittedly all he’s been doing since yesterday. He knows, or rather hopes, that the other will be okay. Ouma-kun just... vanished. It feels kind of surreal and Shuichi actually catches himself typing out various messages from time to time before reminding himself of the current situation and deleting said words.

He mostly just feels uneasy and on edge and Saito-san seems to notice which admittedly doesn’t make the whole thing any better. She even tried approaching him a few times but Shuichi had just dismissed the issue every time.

Nevertheless his colleague had been supportive and offered to work on cases with Shuichi, seemingly knowing that if left by himself in his current state he wouldn’t be able to.

The day seems to pass without him even taking notice of literally anything and before he realises it he’s making his way over to the same cafe as yesterday.

Iruma-san spots him instantly upon entering and just gestures in the direction of the break room which Shuichi follows immediately after.

After entering the familiar interior of the room, he walks over to the pinboard on the wall and starts inspecting the schedule pinned there.

It’s not really helpful though as the numbers in the corner read the date from over two weeks ago.

Sighing he flops down on the same chair as yesterday and waits for Iruma-san to enter.

It takes longer than yesterday, perhaps cause the shop was filled with more clients, it’s not like he paid much attention. There wasn’t really a need to with the person occupying his thoughts not being present today anyway.

The door swings open and the blonde hurries inside before flopping down on the chair next to Shuichi.  She doesn’t proceed to say anything though, just raises an eyebrow in question.

Shuichi clears his throat. “Uh um I have some questions regarding Ouma-kun.”

The blonde nods as if she’d expected the reply and leans back in her chair. “Go ahead.”

“I’ve uh how do I say this,” he stares at the wall next to Iruma-san as if it held all the answers he required, “have you actually ever been to Ouma-kun’s apartment before?”

“What?! Course not why would I?”

Iruma-san doesn’t look exasperated as expected though, rather the opposite. She just smiles at him with a weird grin on her face, as if she’s desperately trying to hold back laughter and Shuichi feels himself becoming more and more flustered.

“I- I just thought... you two are friends after all?”

“Friends? Is that we are?,” she actually seems to contemplate for a second, “dunno maybe. Anyway, the twink has never invited me to his home before, sure we’ve got his address and stuff but honestly? Not even sure it’s legit.”

“Hmm okay...”

“Why you asking Shyhara?”

He startles involuntarily at the question. “It’s just because- Well I’ve been to his place before a-and it didn’t seem to match the address he gave you? I mean i’m not completely sure, It’s not like I actually checked but-“

“Hmm well he did receive all the letters we sent him though? The brat just decided to ignore them but he knew what they were about so...”

Shuichi sighs, this was all just confusing him and didn’t make sense in the slightest. “Alright, thank you Iruma-san. I’ll get going then and uh yeah.”

He’s about to stand up when the blonde stops him. “Wait there’s something I wanted to give you anyway.”

Shuichi raises an eyebrow in question, that really wasn’t what he’d expected. Something she could give him?

“His schedule you silly detective, what else? You think I have his nudes or what? As if anyone would want to see that twink’s-“

“Okay okay Iruma-san I think I get it! Uh so his schedule you said?”

She grins at him proudly and nods. “Yup gonna be right back just wait here for a sec!”

Sighing he drops back down on his seat, hoping that this could actually have the potential to help him somehow. It’s not like he wants to invade the other’s privacy like that but he’s just worried. Maybe Ouma-kun would actually return tomorrow and pretend like nothing had happened and then they could go back to how it was-

No they couldn’t. Shuichi knows they couldn’t, not with the other carrying more lies on his shoulders than anything else. If he wanted this to work he’d have to get him to tell him the truth, or figure it out himself (he would really, really, really prefer the first).

Iruma-san returns with a white sheet of paper in her hand and slams it on the table in front of Shuichi with more vigour than necessary.

“There you go mister detective!”

He picks up the paper delicately, trying not to wrinkle it more than it already was. It’s nothing special really, just the same thing as pinned on the pinboard but with a larger time period and focused solely on Ouma-kun.

He skims through it and stops upon reading the time frame for this week’s shift.

“Uh Iruma-san?”

“Hmmm? Did mister detective find something suspicious already?”

“The time of his shift- You said he didn’t show up yesterday? But he um it says here that he didn’t even have work.”

That makes the blonde freeze in her action of twirling a few hair strands and her eyes narrow in confusion before realisation seems to hit her and she grins at Shuichi.

“Yup that’s true, in fact he had work on Monday but that’s where he didn’t show up!”

“W-What?! But that means he’s been missing since Monday?”

She shoots him a look as if showing that Shuichi was the biggest idiot to exist and the detective feels himself growing more and more confused.

“Look. The reason I could even give you his schedule is ‘cause the brat doesn’t care when or whether he works or not. That’s just the way he is. He always works the hours he’s required to in a week, and alright, the brat does stick to his hours most of the time but him just not showing up but working the next day instead isn’t too unusual, in fact he does it every time he skips his shift. Just shows up the next day and works a different one. He’s weird, I don’t even know.”

“So that’s why you said he’s been missing since Tuesday?”

“Exactly, alright I kinda have to go now Shyhara, work n stuff. If you have any additional questions though just ask me okay?”

He nods dumbly and stands up before grabbing the schedule and stuffing it in his bag. There’s something bothering him about the information he’d just received but Shuichi doesn’t know what exactly yet, he’ll just try and figure it out once he gets home.

-

The ringing of his phone prevents him from even unlocking the front door and Shuichi startles slightly before beginning to rummage through his bag.

“H-Hello?”

“Yo Shuichi!”

“Kaito?”

“Yeah bro. Just asking cause of tomorrow and all, you seem to be kind of forgetful when it comes to stuff like that.”

The detective starts feeling bad immediately upon realising that he had in indeed forgotten about tomorrow and proceeds to curse himself mentally.

“I- Yeah it’s still going to happen don’t worry. What was the time again though?”

“7pm bro. So we’re gonna see eachother tomorrow right? Cool, that’s good.”

“Y-Yeah...”

“Dude are you okay you seem kinda-“

“Ah don’t worry I’m fine but I kind of have to go so ah bye!”

Shuichi only realises that he’d just hung up on the other after staring at the now black screen of his phone for a few seconds.

The detective slams a palm on his forehead in frustration before unlocking the door hastily. God, what was wrong with him? This was getting to him more than he’d initially thought and that meant a lot.

Stumbling inside he slams the door closed and throws his shoes in a corner before turning on the lights and heading into his office.

The detective puts the bag down on the floor next to his chair and heaves a sigh before pulling out the newly attained sheet of paper. Opening the drawer with the rest of papers, Shuichi makes a move to pull out some pens and pencils shortly after when one of them slips out of his hand and lands on the carpeted floor below. The detective groans in annoyance and bows down to pick it up when something stops him.

There, a few centimetres away from the pen he’d just dropped are tiny little splinters of glass on the floor below.

_ Glass? _

He furrows his brows and picks up a few in addition to his pen before placing them on the desk in his office and staring at them intensely.

Shuichi can’t remember dropping or destroying any object made of glass in here recently and since he’d cleaned the whole room last Saturday it couldn’t’ve been from long ago.

Then, why was there glass on the floor?

Maybe it was his landlord checking something? But even then, she always told him when she was going to visit him next...

Nonetheless he decides to call her, even if it’s just to make sure.

-

His hair is a mess and he feels as if he’s going to fall and stumble any second now. In all honesty, Shuichi is pretty sure he’s never ran this fast in his life before.

The detective skids around people and obstacles scattered throughout the roads of Tokyo, aiming to get to his destination as soon as possible. It’s pretty busy during this time which he honestly shouldn’t be surprised about and proceeds to curses himself for about the hundredth time by now.

It’s pitch black outside which makes sense given the fact that it’s November, but as most of his way is brightly lit it’s not really a problem.

Or shouldn’t be, if he weren’t in such a haste.

He nearly trips a couple of times and can feel his clothing start to soak with sweat. Checking his watch a few times the detective realises once again that he’s way, _way_ too late.

Hopefully the others hadn’t left yet.

Finally he comes to a stop in front of the dark brick building and tries to regulate his breathing somewhat before fixing his clothes as he steps inside.

The lighting is dimmed (to his luck) which admittedly fits to the relaxed vibe of the restaurant.

Shuichi’s eyes roam throughout the interior of the facility and he begins to panic as he can’t seem to find the people he’s looking for. A waitress starts approaching him _and oh god what will he say-_

“Hey man.”

A wave of relief floods over him as he makes out the familiar voice of his best friend.

Shuichi turns around slowly, still breathing heavily and most likely still looking like a complete mess and shoots the other a hopefully apologetic but relaxed smile.

The moment Kaito cringes at him though, the detective knows he must look as bad as he feels.

“Just- Just come with me, we sit over there.”

Shuichi just nods dumbly and follows the other towards a table at the back of the room, partly hidden behind the large black bar counter of the restaurant.

Maki is on her phone, perhaps even texting him.

Not like he could check.

He sits down, an apology already on his lips when she snaps her head up and proceeds to glare at him.

“Where were you? We’ve been waiting for nearly an hour Shuichi, I know you told us you’d be late but that you’d be this late? And on top of that you didn’t even text back or pick up once in the last forty minutes.”

“L-Look I’m so sorry I just-“

Now Kaito occupies his vision as he sits down next to Maki and shoots him a deep frown. “Seriously man, what’s up with you?”

The detective can feel himself growing hotter and hotter and anxiety starts crawling up his chest and throat and proceeds to seep into his mind and brain. His heart rate picks up faster and faster and the air around him gets heavier and fuzzier and he feels hot, so hot but he’s shivering at the same time he can’t do this he- God what had he done? He’d just left his friends to wait for an hour and now they were mad at him. He’d fucked up and now they were upset and disappointed and he feels so hot he has to get out of here it’s just too much he’s going to-

“Shuichi!”

His mind still seems to be running a mile a minute but the dull purple of Kaito’s eyes staring right at him weirdly grounds him in some way. Shuichi knows the other is saying something but he can’t seem to process any of the words leaving the other’s mouth, he just stares at him, trying to get the fuzziness surrounding him to subside.

It works eventually and he can make out the worried faces of both his friends staring right at him. Shuichi closes his eyes, trying to rid himself of their looks, but even then he feels their eyes on him. Still, he just aims to regulate his breathing and tries focusing on the words leaving them instead

“-orry really, god Shuichi I didn’t know you’d- fuck.”

“Shuichi if there’s something bothering or stressing you out you can talk to us you know that right?”

_ Okay, deep breath Shuichi, you can do this. _

“I-I’m sorry, I just- everything has been... a-a lot recently, I haven’t really been myself I know that.”

He opens his eyes slowly, dreading but also wanting to see the look on their respective faces. The detective is met with even more worried looks than before (which he hadn’t even deemed possible) but also understanding ones of sorts, which he’s surprised about.

“Do- Do you want to talk about it dude? You already seemed kind of weird on Sunday and yesterday too to be honest...”

“I- Yeah and uh I-I don’t know? I don’t want to bother you guys and-“

“Shuichi.”

The harsh tone of Maki’s voice nearly makes him startle. Had he said something wrong again-

“Y-Yeah?”

“You could never bother us, if there’s anything that’s upsetting you please let us know. If it’s anyone, I promise I’ll just kill th-“

Kaito gently puts his hand on her raised fist and shoots him an apologetic smile. “Okay okay Harumaki that’s enough! But she’s right bro, please, you can always talk to us.”

He told himself he wouldn’t. Too many people knew about the whole situation already. So he’d told himself he really shouldn’t. Things would just get more complicated and complex and what would Ouma-kun think about him just telling other people? Alone thinking about the other makes his breathing pick up again and he desperately forces himself to calm down. So what if he hadn’t shown up in nearly 4 days? He would come back, he had to. Iruma-san had said he would so surely-

“Someone I- I care about a lot vanished a few days ago a-and yeah I just,” he heaves a sigh, “haven’t been myself lately I think.”

“Shuichi... Dude, why didn’t you tell us?”

Kaito actually looks disappointed and the anxiety levels he so desperately tried to keep as low as possible seem to climb again at the sight of said expression on his face.

“I- I don’t know! I haven’t known him for long and I-“

“Were you two close? Romantically involved perhaps? Wait, is this about your date?”

“Harumaki you can’t just-“

Despite everything Shuichi can feel himself blush at the question, were they? He honestly doesn’t really know the answer. “Uh I yes it is and ah... kind of?”

Maki seems to contemplate his answer for a few seconds and begins to fiddle with one of her bracelets absentmindedly before raising her eyes to look at him softly.

Softly?

Honestly, Shuichi could count the amount of times the other had looked at him like that before on one hand. So to say that he was surprised now was definitely an understatement.

“I know what it’s like to lose loved ones out of sight for a while but they came back to me, always did. So have trust in them Shuichi.”

Have trust? Trust that Ouma-kun would come back? Trust that he wouldn’t try to hide the reason for his absence with a carefully woven web of lies? Trust that the thing they’d built didn’t entirely consist of lies already?

Shuichi shakes his head. While he couldn’tconfirm that the first two questions would indeed turn out to be wrong, just silly suspicions and something he could actually put his trust in, he knew that the last one wasn’t and just simply couldn’t be the truth.

He knows he hasn’t known the waiter for long but the time he’d spent with the other... it just couldn’t wholly be based on lies and falsehood. The moment Ouma-kun had admitted to his weaknesses, had let Shuichi care for him, had let him in on his thoughts, his past, his feelings... it surely couldn’t all be a fabricated lie surrounding the other. It just couldn’t and Shuichi trusted in that; trusted that the mystery that is Ouma Kokichi wasn’t entirely one, but someone that perhaps even cared about Shuichi and had willingly let him in on a huge part of himself.

Deep breaths.

“I- Yeah you’re right. I’m sorry I just- I’ve been so stuck in this tunnel of worries and anxiety and I guess I didn’t really consider some things...”

Kaito places a hand on his arm in a reassuring manner and smiles at him. “Hey man no worries. But you could’ve told us you know, or at least Kaede.”

“Wait how do you know I haven’t-“

Maki rolls her eyes. “Oh come on Shuichi do you take us for stupid? It’s quite obvious you haven’t let her in on this yet, trust me, the only times I’ve seen you this distraught in the past were when you hadn’t confided in her about something either.”

Shuichi can’t help but heave a nervous laugh at her statement. She was right after all and it’s only then that he realises how lucky he actually is.

He’d let his friends wait for over an hour because he’d been so stuck in this situation and mindset, so stuck in this state of pressure to figure out something new that he hadn’t even processed anything else around him properly.

“T-Thank you guys, I’ve just been so pressured to figure out literally anything involving this whole mess and k-kind of just lost track I guess.”

“Hey bro I know I can’t just tell you to stop entirely cause that’s not how you work so uh if you actually want to do something that maybe won’t put you under as much pressure, why don’t you just focus on the information you’ve gathered so far instead?”

“What Kaito means is; don’t pressure yourself and only try looking into this any further if you think you actually feel up for this.”

“Uh yeah thanks Harumaki...”

Shuichi smiles at them both and god he feels so relieved, even though he knows he probably shouldn’t, but he’s just so, so grateful. “Thank you guys, really. Now uh, I know you waited an hour already so ah are you guys even still hungry?”

“Dude are you kidding me? Of course we are!”

-

Though worry and doubt had started occupying his mind again stronger after he’d parted ways with his friends Shuichi now knows that he can’t keep going the way he had the past days.

He needs to have trust in Ouma-kun, he knows that now.

But then again, he also knows that even if the other will return, the lies he’d told in the past would still be present and Shuichi can’t seem to shake the feeling that there’s so much more behind them. And if he really wanted this to work like he’d wished for he had to obtain at least some closure.

He stares at the address written down on the note in front of him and he knows for a fact that it doesn’t match the home Ouma-kun had let him in.

It would be foolish to assume that Shuichi hadn’t at least tried to contact the other with the knowledge of where Ouma-kun actually lives. After calling his landlord yesterday and making his way to the other’s apartment he hadn’t even bothered to look at the address, didn’t need to with the directions memorised automatically (perks of using the metro religiously to meet up with his friends) and assuming that it’s most likely incorrect anyway.

As he couldn’t actually use the elevator without the card the inhabitants of the apartment block owned, he’d resulted in confronting the woman behind the counter in the entrance hall instead.

Obviously she couldn’t let him upstairs for security reasons but she’d admitted to not having seen the former recently.

After noticing Shuichi’s messy and worried state she’d proceeded to call her two colleagues working the desk at other times of the week but even they had admitted to not having seen the waiter and once again, had only confirmed the things Shuichi knew already: that it wasn’t unusual for the other to leave for a few days before returning again, as he’d left his keys at their desk to look over every time in the past before starting one of his ‘trips’. Shuichi didn’t even have to mention Ouma-kun’s name once during the whole conversation so perhaps those really had been rather typical in the past.

Even then the woman had proceeded to tell Shuichi that they did indeed have his keys at their desk to look over at the moment.

Which of course should’ve calmed the detective’s worries as the other was obviously missing with intention but it had only caused the exact opposite and for his thoughts to go haywire and rage even stronger than before. 

(Where had he gone? And why? Was this planned? Again, why had he told the detective to meet up if he’d only leave the same day?)

So now here he was, staring at the address provided. He knows it would be a violation of privacy and against the trust he’d vowed to believe in to just go and drive to given destination.

Shuichi doesn’t know for how long exactly he ends up standing there, in the middle of his office, frowning at the numbers and letters in front of him.

Eventually he puts the page in his drawer and shuts it rather violently, a decision having been made.

He’d hold onto this trust longer, according to Iruma-san it would only be logical for Ouma-kun to return soon anyway.

Who knows, maybe things would go back to the way they were sooner than expected?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> smh kokichi what are you doing


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Exactly, it made no sense. No sense whatsoever and Shuichi would refuse to believe in something so trivial which he additionally had no evidence for. God what was he doing? Ouma-kun isn’t here, of course he isn’t and all of this was just pointless.
> 
> Hot anger starts boiling up inside of him and Shuichi clenches his fists before storming outside.
> 
> Had he really come to the point where he doubted everything regarding Ouma-kun? Wasn’t he supposed to trust him? Trust that he would come back, trust that he cared about Shuichi?

Things did not, in fact, go back to the way they were anytime soon.

It’s been nearly ten days now, the first week of december had already begun, he still couldn’t place the weird glass shards in his office and Ouma-kun still hadn’t shown up.

He’s been trying, he really has. He’d believed in Maki and in her advice of trusting in the waiter but at this point nearly all trust was diminished and he was just an anxious and worrying mess.

Even Iruma-san seemed jittery and unsure at this point, unsure of what to do or how to behave.

Obviously Shuichi had brought up the idea of contacting the police more than once but the blonde had strictly advised him not to. That was 2 days ago, after more than an entire week had passed.

The detective knows he could do something, should do something and the answers to some of his questions could be behind the address printed on a white sheet of paper in his office.

After last week’s Thursday he’d tried distancing himself from the whole situation a bit, aiming to trust that Ouma-kun would show up within the next few days. It had actually worked at first, he’d been more relaxed and less on edge but as the days went by all sense of security and faith had vanished nearly completely.

And now here he was, standing in front of his desk, looking at his closed drawer as if it held all the answers in the world.

Next to the little opaque box with the small glass shards he’d found last week hidden inside, there were any documents involving Ouma-kun and most importantly: the address.

That stupid tempting address.

He had it so why couldn’t he just drive to its destination? Iruma-san hadn’t either yet, for whatever reason, but when she’d brought it up yesterday, after 9 days had passed, Shuichi knew that there was probably no other option at this point.

It was allegedly the other’s home after all, so it was basically only logical for him to be there so why was he creating such a fuss?

The detective shakes his head, he knows exactly why he was. Whatever that address meant, it couldn’t possibly just be Ouma-kun’s apartment, for god’s sake, he’d been to his apartment just days prior!

This didn’t make any sense, absolutely none of it did and it had to change. It had to change now and Shuichi has reached the point where he truthfully regrets not having done anything sooner.

So he finally pushes the drawer open and grabs the sheet of paper hidden inside.

-

Shuichi notices that the drive to the apartment (if it even turns out to be one, at least that’s what he’s assuming for now) is way longer than the one to the white apartment complex he’d visited with Ouma-kun before. It takes over an hour for him to get there and as soon as he steps out of the underground station and takes in his surroundings he finds himself frowning.

He’s encompassed by a few narrow streets and some lonely trees seemingly spread randomly along the roads. Additionally there are a few street lanterns but a notably less amount than close to his home, so it ends up being way darker than in most parts of the city.

The sky is pitch black and the wind is blowing relentlessly but still the detective just shakes his head before wrapping his coat tighter around himself and walking along the route his brightly lit phone screen currently displays in front of him.

It’s about ten minutes before he reaches his destination and he stops in front of the dark nondescript brick building currently in front of him. There are actually a few similar structures in the same row, all of them looking eerily similar to one another. There’s close to no light burning behind any of the windows on said buildings though and dark vines creeping up the sides of the facade and thus causing parts of it to crack.

Still, the one he’s standing in front of right now actually looks the least frightening as it displays mostly lit windows which make it seem rather unalarming (he’s secretly relieved). The detective takes a few steps forward and pushes the door open tentatively which in response swings open immediately.

Shuichi nearly startles in return but ends up taking a deep breath instead before carefully walking inside.

He finds himself in a narrow corridor with a spiral staircase at the back, most likely leading upstairs. The detective knows there should probably be around 3-4 floors due to the windows displayed outside. Turning on the light-switch to his right he continues walking down the corridor aiming to find any sign with the resident’s names written on it.

Luckily he doesn’t have to search for long as there’s one located right next to the door he’d previously walked through. Shuichi skims along the rows of names displayed, his heart racing all the while. It comes to a stop once his eyes scan the top row and he nearly sighs in relief.

** 4th floor - Ouma Kokichi **

Should he ring the doorbell? He dismisses the idea rather quickly, if the interior of the building was anything to go by it likely wouldn’t work anyway.

Alright he could do this, he’d just go upstairs and then-

Shuichi jolts violently and turns around quickly to the approaching sound of _something_. It doesn’t quite sound like footsteps and it’s pretty quiet as well but he still startles nonetheless, only for him to see...

a _cat_?

The detective ends up squinting in disbelief, not moving a muscle as he keeps staring at the black cat in front of him. The animal seems to be doing the same, standing in front of him and peering up at the detective curiously through golden eyes.

So here they were, staring at eachother until the cat sits down and cocks its head in question as its tail whips around playfully.

Ultimately Shuichi ends up sighing in relief and takes a few steps forward in order to crouch down in front of the cat, carefully stretching out a hand to scratch the animal behind its ears. It starts to purr almost immediately whilst leaning into the touch and the detective can’t help but laugh at the affectionate behaviour.

It doesn’t take long though before the animal apparently becomes bored of the current situation and starts walking down the corridor before jumping up a few flights of stairs and turning around to look at Shuichi expectantly, as if telling him to follow.

The detective ends up shaking his head fondly and gets up to follow the small animal up the stairs.

As soon as he’s in close proximity the animal scurries away to get up the spiral staircase leading upstairs. Shuichi follows, partly curious about where the animal will take him but also because he has somewhere to be himself.

To his surprise the animal continues walking- or more jumping- upstairs, exactly where the detective initially planned on going. They eventually reach the top of the building where said stairs open up to a floor with various doors on each side.

As soon as Shuichi steps off the stairs the cat sits down next to his feet, looking up at him expectantly once again.

The detective just shakes his head and walks along the rows of doors, looking for the one belonging to a certain waiter which takes a bit longer to find than expected, as it’s located at the very back.

Between both doors on the opposite faint orange walls engulfing him there’s a window placed right in front of him. It’s made of green and white glass, apparently forming some sort of pattern and there’s a white windowsill at the bottom which looks more brown than white at this point.

It faintly reminds him of the entire building with its chipped orange coloured walls, the colour nearly having fainted completely at this point. The dark wooden floor underneath his feet isn’t the cleanest either, with dirt and pieces of rubble scattered all over the surface he’s walking on.

While the building seems to have quite a lot of inhabitants, it’s really not the prettiest or most well kept. Shuichi turns around only to see the black animal walking up to him and sitting down right next to his feet.

It peers up at him with its golden eyes, faintly reminding himself of his own, as if to ask what the detective was even doing at this point.

Shuichi snaps his gaze back towards the piece of wood and metal fixed to the wall next to the door and squints again to read the letters and numbers displayed.

** 409 - Ouma Kokichi **

There’s actually a doorbell attached right underneath and Shuichi ponders over whether to press it or not.

The sound of meowing next to him pulls him out of his pondering and he heaves a sigh before ultimately pressing the small button on the wall in front of him. He nearly startles again at the sound ringing through the wooden door in front of him and braces himself for... anything really.

Nothing happens though.

Shuichi presses the button again and leans his ear against the brown door.

Nothing.

He should’ve expected it in all honestly. Why would Ouma-kun be here at all? But it had made sense somehow... Shuichi shakes his head, this was all just so confusing to him and if only he could just lock pick-

_ “Guess I won’t have to lock pick my door after all!” _

_ “You do that?” _

_ “Hm yeah sometimes I forget my keys at work and I’m too lazy to go back sooo...” _

_ He grins as he unlocks the door and opens it with a rather dramatic swing. _

Shuichi shudders violently at the memory and takes a few steps backwards. That’s right Ouma-kun could pick locks so why-

_ There, a few centimetres away from the pen he’d just dropped are tiny little splinters of glass on the floor below. _

_ Glass? _

_ He furrows his brows and picks up a few in addition to his pen before placing them on the desk in his office and staring at them intensely. _

_ Shuichi can’t remember dropping or destroying any object made of glass in here recently and since he’d cleaned the whole room last Saturday it couldn’t’ve been from long ago. _

_ Then, why was there glass on the floor? _

No, no, no. Shuichi forces an airy laugh out of his lungs as he shakes his head violently. That, _that_ made no sense at all.

(It somehow did though.)

How could Ouma-kun break into his apartment if he didn’t even know on which floor he lived?

(He’d told him over text though.)

Then why would he in the first place?

(...)

Exactly, it made no sense. No sense whatsoever and Shuichi would refuse to believe in something so trivial which he additionally had no evidence for. God what was he _doing_? Ouma-kun isn’t here, of course he isn’t and all of this was just pointless.

Hot anger starts boiling up inside of him and Shuichi clenches his fists before storming outside.

Had he really come to the point where he doubted everything regarding Ouma-kun? Wasn’t he supposed to trust him? Trust that he would come back, trust that he _cared_ about Shuichi?

(He’s been gone for nearly ten days though.)

As the cool december air outside hits him, Shuichi squints up at the building and its now additional lit up row of windows one last time.

There’s a black cat with golden eyes in one of the upper windows peering down at him curiously.

-

Shuichi is just confused, so so confused and he admittedly doesn’t know what to do. There are too many thoughts, too many worries churning around inside of him _and he’s just so confused what the hell._

It’s Wednesday already and none of the information he’d managed to gather regarding the other so far made any sense.  Usually, after Shuichi began collecting evidence and information for a case things would start to clear up more and more but now it appeared to be the exact opposite.

Even driving to the other’s address earlier hadn’t gotten him any further. In all honesty he should’ve never even started placing his hope in Ouma-kun opening the door with a big grin on his face and saying something along the lines of “you caught me mister detective!” since all the hopes he did have were utterly crushed and destroyed.

There is admittedly nothing left for him to do and everything he knew so far made no sense whatsoever.

Although...

There’s something he’s been putting off doing so far, alone the thought of it filling his heart with an ugly ache. But-

Shuichi scrambles around only to feel the empty space of the couch next to him instead of the object he’s looking for. He ends up heaving an annoyed sigh before getting up and rushing down the hallway to where his bag should be.

And there, inside one of the bag’s pockets it was: his phone.

He grabs the object and unlocks it quickly before tapping on the familiar icon of the messenger app. While he’d actually caught himself typing out a few messages to said waiter before deleting them hastily, his ‘slip-ups’ had became way less over time and ultimately he hadn’t even opened their chat at all. He’d then opted for not opening the entire app too often either which in response had only caused his friends to worry. Shuichi had just continued to brush them off every time they’d mentioned it in the past though.

But now here he was, looking at the messages he’d sent Ouma-kun last week, exactly eight days ago.

It leaves him feeling even more sad and anxious than before and a part of him already regrets the whole idea. The other part, the detective in him, curses himself for not having done so earlier.

When thinking about the other’s disappearance he hadn’t even considered the possibility of information being stored behind the other’s messages as they had still conversed on Sunday and more importantly, on Monday.

He scrolls up to said days tentatively and begins reading.

**[Sunday, 17:13] Ouma Kokichi:** i have work tomorrow and tuesday buuut you could come pick me up on tuesday? you don’t work that long then do you?

So that hadn’t been a lie. Iruma-san had told him the other had work on Monday but... on Tuesday too? From what he’d gathered from Iruma-san the shift he would’ve worked on Tuesday after skipping the one on Monday would’ve been recompense so...

The fact that he had to work on Tuesday was a lie?

Shuichi shuts off his phone and walks over to his office, opening the drawer to look at the other’s schedule, and as expected: Ouma-kun had to work on Monday that week, neither Tuesday nor Wednesday but the rest of the week instead.

So he’d lied? Why?

The detective grabs the device hastily, opening the previously closed chatroom once again. He scrolls through the rest of their messages until he reaches the last one Ouma-kun had sent and freezes immediately after reading said text.

**[Monday, 09:14] Ouma Kokichi:** alright i have to leave and wooork, miu wants something from me ( ￢ _ ￢ ;)

Monday? Didn’t Iruma-san say he hadn’t shown up that day? Shuichi faintly remembers feeling off after reading the schedule for the first time and now he’s finally able to place why exactly.

So Ouma-kun had lied about him working that day and hadn’t proceeded to show up the next either?

Shuichi shakes his head at the realisation. He knew Ouma-kun was a liar, he’d even told himself so countless of times and was admittedly skilled at it too but he hadn’t expected there to-

Wait.

Ouma-kun was a liar, that much was a fact, but the other had always been precise and careful about the lies he told, only letting those slip he actually wanted to. So the fact that he’d so blatantly lied about something so obvious? Ouma-kun didn’t need to lie and say he’d have to work that day, as it was admittedly an easy lie to figure out, so why had he done so nonetheless and about something so unnecessary as well?

Surely he wouldn’t be so careless, right? So maybe, just maybe he hadn’t even intended for it to turn into a lie?

Shuichi checks the time for when said message had been delivered: 9:14 in the morning.

He checks the other’s schedule for Monday: his shift started at 10:00 and ended at 19:00. So what if Ouma-kun had actually planned on showing up at work that day? If he had, it would be near impossible for Shuichi to figure out the lie he’d told, with him not knowing his schedule and Iruma-san admitting to him showing up whenever he wanted to (and honestly just being confused in general, the detective doubted that she would be capable of remembering the exact time the waiter would’ve shown up at).

Suddenly the anxiety that’s already been inside of him seems to duplicate and fear starts to spread more and more and Shuichi has to put down his phone for a second and calm down his breathing.

Because the fear and possibly that maybe something bad had indeed happened to Ouma-kun and caused him to disappear involuntarily seems to be even higher than before.  The fact that the other had actually planned on meeting up with Shuichi only added to the fact. The detective was sure that said meeting hadn’t been a planned lie, so maybe that had been the other’s original plan?

That meant something must’ve happened to make the other disappear and for his messages to turn into lies.

But Shuichi had admittedly no idea regarding the cause of matter... none of the evidence he’d managed to gather so far was any indicator towards the truth and even the theory of Ouma-kun’s disappearance not being planned was only that: a mere theory.

The whole situation is stressful and frustrating and the detective is admittedly unsure of what to do next.

It’s not like he could contact anyone close to Ouma-kun either as the other had never mentioned anyone of the like nor his family. Shuichi internally curses himself for never asking in the past either and buries his face in his hands as he tries to regulate his breathing.

He doesn’t know for how long exactly he stays in said position until the ringing of his phone startles him out of it.

Shuichi gets up reluctantly and unlocks his phone to tap on the newly received message.

**[22:34] Akamatsu Kaede:** Hey Shuichi I wanted to let you know that I got tickets for the concert at Suntory Hall!!

**[22:34] Akamatsu Kaede:** Also wanted to check if you’re okay? We haven’t been talking lately and my best friend radar is just kind of freaking out :”)

**[22:34] Akamatsu Kaede:** I care about you okay?

The detective immediately feels bad upon reading the other’s texts. It’s true that he hasn’t been texting her recently, with everything going on at the moment just being too much and he hadn’t let her in on the issue either like he’d initially planned on doing.

It’s not like he didn’t want to, but he didn’t want to burden his best friend either.

He’d meant to call her and tell her everything on Thursday after meeting up with Kaito and Maki but Thursday had been the same day Amami-kun had returned from his journey and Shuichi didn’t want to interrupt. He knows Kaede’s boyfriend isn’t home much so he’d wanted her to properly enjoy the time he actually was for once.

The fact that he’d made her worry though definitely wasn’t what he’d wanted to achieve.

**[22:36] Saihara Shuichi:** I’m sorry! Work has just been busy lately... I’ll tell you all about it soon, I’m assuming you aren’t free this weekend?

**[22:37] Akamatsu Kaede:** Please do! And no I’m not... Sorry, Rantaro and I wanted to drive to Hakone over the next few days:/ but! How about we call on Sunday? Do you have time then? Maybe around 11pm, I know that’s kind of late but we won’t be home sooner

**[22:37] Saihara Shuichi:** Yeah that should work! Enjoy the next few days!

He shuts off his phone before she gets the chance to reply and heaves a sigh.

Despite the constant anxiety and worrying inside him being stronger than before he decides to shower and go to bed. He has work tomorrow and there’s honestly nothing he can do at this point other than to just hope and wait.

Shuichi laughs bitterly at his thoughts. Hope? He’s surprised he even has some left at this point. Truthfully he doesn’t know for how long he’ll be able to just sit and wait. Iruma-san had pleaded with him to at least wait until next Monday, which would mark exactly two weeks since Ouma-kun had stopped texting Shuichi.

He figured he should just trust Iruma-san, she knew the other longer than him after all.

The detective definitely isn’t happy about just sitting still and doing nothing, but he figures that there’s nothing else to do really. He just hates his current state. Shuichi knows he can’t do anything even though something must’ve happened, but he’s honestly at a loss for what to do.

The things he could do to investigate this any further would only be possible by contacting the police and that could only happen once two weeks had passed, if he’s sticking to his promise to Iruma-san.

So again, he’ll just wait and hope with the last crumps of hope he actually has left.

He hates it, despises it, with his entire being screaming at him to do the exact opposite and he just hopes, once again, that he isn’t making a huge mistake with this.

-

The rain is pounding against the glass windows of his apartment and he can make out the faint rumble of thunder in the background.

The wind is probably blowing relentlessly as well, at least that’s what it looks like whenever Shuichi spares a glance outside. The weather is honestly horrible and he’s just glad he’s not stuck in his office at this time of day like he usually would.

While he did have work today Saito-san had just pleaded with him to go home at one point, apparently having enough of Shuichi’s constant worrying and jittery behaviour.

He’s actually surprised he hasn’t been fired yet.

Ever since Ouma-kun disappeared he hasn’t been able to work or solve a single case on his own, his thoughts just too preoccupied with different matters. So Saito-san had taken it upon herself to work together with him, or rather, make it look like they did while she did most of the solving and thinking.

Shuichi did feel horrible about it, of course he did. Admittedly he doesn’t even know for how many times he’d apologised in the past. But Saito-san had just shrugged off his apologies, saying that it was alright and normal for people to not be at their best sometimes.

But Shuichi wasn’t just ‘not at his best’ he was a fucking mess.

He still regrets listening to Iruma-san, he should’ve gone to the police the moment Ouma-kun had disappeared. He’s absolutely positive something must’ve happened for him to vanish, otherwise none of this made sense.

(Not like it didn’t already.)

The issue of the weird glass found in his office had moved to the back of his mind, actually being the least of his worries at this point. Nothing had been amiss in his apartment so he’d probably just dropped something after all. His landlord hadn’t been in his apartment either so that was most likely it.

Shuichi was just glad that he was finally able to do something real soon.

Because tomorrow marked Monday and thus one week of Ouma-kun’s disappearance and he would finally be able to go to the police like he should’ve done days ago.

The loud crack of thunder and lightning startles him out of his thoughts and Shuichi takes another sip from his coffee and spares the clock on his wall another glance.

It’s not even that late, nearly 8pm but still; sleep is something Shuichi isn’t even close to thinking about. He faintly wonders how many hours of sleep he’s had the past week and the most possible answer honestly scares him a bit. Even now, the detective doesn’t expect to get a wisp of sleep since he plans on going to the police the next morning.

He frowns at the device on the counter right in front of him.

His phone screen is pitch black, probably due to the fact that it has no battery left but Shuichi can’t be bothered to charge it.

So he just sits in his kitchen. Sipping his lukewarm tea, waiting for time to pass or whatever. Shuichi feels weirdly detached from his body, just sitting here in his dark kitchen, the only light source being the lit up hallway partly shining into his kitchen. Time passes by, so slow but fast at the same time.

He’s not even anxious anymore, he just feels... weirdly empty. Maybe due to the lack of sleep? Not like it matters.

He takes another sip from his tea and the hands of his clock move another bit.

The rain outsides keeps pounding against his office windows and lightning keeps rumbling in the back. His eyelids suddenly feel really, really heavy, maybe he should’ve made himself coffee after all and what if he just...

The sharp ringing of his doorbell causes Shuichi’s head to snap up from... the counter of his kitchen?

Shuichi spares the clock on the wall a glance and he dreadfully realises he’d slept for nearly 3 hours. Wait, why had he woken up in the first place?

He receives his answer rather quickly with another ring chiming from his hallway and the detective stumbles up hastily and rushes down the length of his corridor.

Shuichi’s mind definitely isn’t working properly at this point or otherwise he would’ve probably asked himself the question of who would ring his fucking doorbell close to midnight on a Sunday night.

But since it’s not he just rips open the door without another word and freezes immediately upon looking outside.

Because outside, in the middle of the hallway of his apartment complex, is no one other than Ouma Kokichi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mmyes don’t we just love cliffhangers


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His eyes... despite their colour they manage to look so dull, so lifeless it startles Shuichi every time Ouma-kun averts his gaze to look at him.
> 
> Shuichi just proceeds to look away and hands him the blanket wordlessly before making a move to turn around and leave when something grabs onto his sweater from behind and causes him to stop in his movement.
> 
> “Where are you going?”
> 
> The question is asked with no emotions whatsoever, nearly causing the detective to shiver at the tone. “I- I was going to get my futon to sleep in the liv-”
> 
> “What? No.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi hi i once again apologise for the cliffhanger in the last chapter, it was just too good of an opportunity to pass up on okay-  
> ⠀⠀⠀  
> also hhh i’ve been feeling kind of self-conscious abt my writing lately? idk i just think i rlly have to work on some stuff which i kinda tried while editing this chapter again but idk if i like it ugh *sad noises*  
> ⠀⠀⠀  
> anyway! i’m gonna shut up now, just wanted to say that i’ll most likely go back and edit a few of the previous chapters, nothing plot wise just adding thoughts n descriptions n all :”)  
> ⠀⠀⠀  
> ok that’s it fr now i rlly hope this chapter isn’t too weird, i promise you guys there’s a reason for the ~weirdness~ in it eee

Times comes to a stop immediately and all Shuichi can do is stare.

Stare at the drenched person in front of him, dripping water onto the floor.

Stare at the person that had been on his mind constantly for the past two weeks.

Stare at-

“S-Saihara-chan?”

Shuichi blinks a few times before moving one of his arms in order to rub the sleeve of his cotton sweater over his eyes. But still: Ouma Kokichi hadn’t vanished, he was still there, right in front of him, standing in the middle of the hallway.

“What-“

Ouma Kokichi heaves a sigh. Shuichi faintly notices that he’s shivering and that he’s just wearing a now completely drenched grey sweater, drenched black jeans and a pair of drenched purple converse he knows all too well. No jacket, nothing.

Again, Shuichi just stares and rubs his sleeve over his eyes, this time much more violently than before.

But still, Ouma Kokichi doesn’t vanish. He’s currently still standing right in front of him, water dripping from his drenched hair and clothes onto the floor causing a small puddle to form underneath him and for him to shiver violently and-

“Oh my god.”

Shuichi moves before he seems to register what exactly he’s doing and suddenly he’s holding onto Ouma-kun’s ice cold shoulders and proceeds to pull him inside before shutting the door behind the both of them with more vigour than necessary.  Ouma-kun just looks at him through a pair of big purple and yellow eyes and opens his mouth for a split second before closing it again.

“S-Saihara-chan?”

He whispers it so quietly Shuichi nearly fails to understand the words leaving the other. The detective just proceeds to shake his head. “Wait here.”

Shuichi seems to move on autopilot at this point: he opens the door to his bathroom, pulls out the biggest and fluffiest towel he owns, walks back into the apartment’s hallway and continues to wrap it around the other’s shoulders carefully.

And still Ouma-kun just stares at him.

Stares at him through violet and yellow eyes and Shuichi faintly thinks he’s never seen that emotion behind the other’s beautiful eyes before, nor his natural eye colour.

The waiter nearly looks _scared_ , more shocked than anything else and so so confused, perhaps even more confused than Shuichi feels right now which admittedly means a lot.

Another shiver shaking the waiter’s body makes Shuichi break the previous eye contact and he closes his eyes briefly before opening them again and nodding to himself reassuringly, a stark contrast to how he actually feels right now.

“O-Okay. I’m- I’m going to make you a bath and get another towel and you- you’ll sit down on my couch in the meantime okay? There are some blankets as well so you- yeah okay. It’s- It’s over there.”

Ouma-kun moves immediately after Shuichi’s gesture pointing in the direction of his living room, if a bit slow and hesitant and Shuichi  heaves another deep sigh, aiming to somewhat calm his racing heart. He ultimately decides to enter his bathroom once again in order to turn up the faucet and let warm water fill up his bathtub before grabbing another one of his towels.

While walking over to his living room for the second time Shuichi can’t seem to form a single coherent thought other than the one that Ouma-kun was right here. He was _right here_. Right here in his apartment.

Ouma-kun has the towel and two additional blankets wrapped tightly around him when Shuichi enters and his eyes are closed peacefully. He’s leaning against a heap of Shuichi’s pillows and if he weren’t in the current situation the detective would’ve probably thought about how adorable and tiny the other looked.

Would’ve.

Instead, he sees the other’s wet hair and the dark circles underneath his eyes and Shuichi walks back into the brightly lit bathroom hastily, checking on the water which merely proceeds to slowly fill up his tub.

So now here he was, sitting on the brim of his bathtub while watching it slowly fill with sloshing water.

His mind is still wiped, completely blank and no thoughts seem to form except for the previous one that Ouma-kun was back, was still right here in his living room and _oh god what was he even doing-_

Shuichi watches the water steadily fill the tub more and more, still desperately attempting to calm himself down while doing so. No matter how hard he tries though, he neither seems to be successful in doing so nor does he manage to form any coherent thoughts. (Still.)

As soon as the tub is filled with enough water he turns off the faucet and grabs some clean clothes from his bedroom and places them next to the bathtub before ultimately returning to his living room. His movements are probably the only thing steady and with intent behind them, he knows what to do despite not actually being able to fully process anything currently transpiring around him.

Despite his anxiety and doubts Ouma-kun is still where he’d left him though: perched on his couch, leaning against some of his grey and blue pillows.

Shuichi takes a few steps towards him carefully before settling on shaking him awake tentatively. The other blinks his eyes open sleepily before recognition seems to hit him and he gets up wordlessly after sparing Shuichi a glance, only taking the towel with him before stopping in front of the door leading to the detective’s bathroom.

Shuichi finds himself frowning and is close to asking him if there’s something wrong when he starts to make out the quiet words leaving the other.

“Thank you.”

It’s said so quietly Shuichi genuinely wonders if he just imagined the whole thing when Ouma-kun suddenly steps into his bathroom and closes the door behind him with a quiet thud.

Okay, deep breaths Shuichi.

And still, his mind is still surprisingly blank, still aiming to process the whole situation and admittedly failing miserable while doing so.

So he ends up stumbling back into his kitchen, opting to clean it in order to pass the time and to calm his racing heart additionally.

(A part of him knows it won’t work, he's still set on trying though.)

-

It doesn’t take as long as expected for him to hear the door of his bathroom swing open and for a pair of footsteps to walk into the room he’s currently occupying.

Which would be the living room.

Shuichi was staring at the now partly wet material of the couch when Ouma-kun had proceeded to rip him out of his thoughts by quietly padding into the room.

The detective looks at the other standing in the doorframe, his complexion lit up by the warm glow coming from his hallway and Shuichi’s heart begins to ache immediately at the sight.

Unsurprisingly the clothes he’d picked were still way too big on the other, though he’d tried to pick smaller ones, and it looks like Ouma-kun is close to drowning in them. His hair is a partly curly, damp mess, strands of hair sticking out and making him look way younger in the process. But god he looks so tiny, so small, so fragile and Shuichi’s heart aches so, so bad.

He doesn’t even realise what he’s doing until he finds himself holding the other in his arms, Ouma-kun’s body stiffening immediately at the contact.

The detective is about to let go, to apologise for being so careless when two tiny arms hug him in return and Ouma-kun takes a deep, shuddering breath.

“I-It’s okay, you’re safe now.”

Ouma-kun shakes his head violently at his words but doesn’t say a word and Shuichi just proceeds to hold him, hold him until the other stops trembling and shaking his head.

The fact that Shuichi was still moving on autopilot despite his brain being a complete mess with no proper thoughts whatsoever should be alarming to him or something close to concerning. Instead he just forces himself to continue focusing on the small figure he’s hugging, trying to focus on the other’s breathing that’s starting to even out more and more.

Shuichi eventually pulls back reluctantly, knowing that they couldn’t stay like this forever and sighs deeply before raising his voice. “ O-Okay. I was going to let you sleep on the couch but it’s partly drenched now so I-I can’t let you sleep on it but I still have my bed if- if that’s okay for you.”

The waiter just nods and Shuichi mimics the gesture dumbly before walking ahead and opening the door to his bedroom. Ouma-kun walks inside before sitting down on one edge of said bed reluctantly. He looks kind of lost, his pale body dressed in way too big clothes surrounded by the white sheets of Shuichi’s bed.

“O-Okay I’ll be right back.”

Shuichi quickly pads back into the previous room, grabs one of the dry blankets he has left and walks back into his room.

Ouma-kun is still sitting on his bed, staring intensely at the floor below and therefore doesn’t seem to notice Shuichi’s return. The detective walks towards him slowly, until he’s standing in front of him and thus causes the other’s gaze to drift towards him, just like before.

His eyes... despite their colour they manage to look so dull, so lifeless it startles Shuichi every time Ouma-kun averts his gaze to look at him.

Shuichi just proceeds to look away and hands him the blanket wordlessly before making a move to turn around and leave when something grabs onto his sweater from behind and causes him to stop in his movement.

“Where are you going?”

The question is asked with no emotions whatsoever, nearly causing the detective to shiver at the tone. “I- I was going to get my futon to sleep in the liv-“

“What? No.”

It’s said with such finality and conviction, a complete difference to the tone accompanying the previous question and Shuichi finds himself frowning in confusion. Instead he turns around and looks at the other which only causes Ouma-kun to drop his hand back in his lap uselessly.

Shuichi clears his throat awkwardly. “I- I just thought-“

“You can’t let me sleep in your bed while you sleep on the floor.”

“I- I technically wouldn’t-“

“No.”

A part of Shuichi knows there’s no room to argue and admittedly he’s too tired and confused to do so either, so he ultimately just settles on agreeing. “A-Alright.”

So Shuichi ends up at the other side of the bed and turns off the remaining lights before shifting underneath his blankets. It’s pitch dark in his room now and additionally completely quiet for a few seconds before he can make out the quiet sound of rustling on the other side of his bed and the additional feeling of the mattress dipping slightly at Ouma-kun’s weight.

It’s only when he hears the other breathing next to him that he realises how close they actually are. “You know that’s not what I meant...”

Shuichi turns his head to face the current direction of the other, silently hoping he won’t bump into him with how close they are. Sheepishly he raises his voice to reply. “Well, I-I can still leave if you-“

“No. No, that’s not-,” the waiter inhales shakily, “not what I want either.”

A pause.

He doesn’t know how long it lasts, just that’s it’s way too long and _weird_ and he doesn’t know what to say. Shuichi tries to focus on regulating and evening out his breathing instead, better than to question the weird emptiness still occupying his mind and thoughts.

Suddenly he can hear the other laughing bitterly and it’s filled with such acidity it nearly causes Shuichi to shiver in response after startling slightly.

Then there’s more movement and the rustling of sheets that sounds so much closer now before he feels something warm and heavy settle against his side. “O-Ouma-kun?”  He doesn’t manage to keep the surprise out of his voice, too perplexed by the whole situation. “Hmm? Is there something bothering you my beloved?”

There’s something in the other’s voice, something causing the hairs on Shuichi’s neck to stand up but the detective can’t seem to place what exactly it is that’s making him feel so uneasy. “N-No...”

“Good.”  And suddenly there are two arms hugging his side, partly enveloping him, and another warm weight against his chest, most likely the other’s head. Shuichi can feel his heart rate pick up but doesn’t dare to make a move as the other seems to adjust his position before heaving a deep, but seemingly satisfied sigh.

Shuichi doesn’t know for how long he just lays there, not daring to move a muscle until eventually the other’s breathing seems to even, letting the detective know he’d most likely fallen asleep. Shuichi exhales himself and carefully ends up wrapping his arms around the person next to him, faintly noticing how well the waiter’s small form fits into his arms.

It feels nice actually, right somehow. It’s a weird thought considering everything going on at the moment but he can’t prevent himself from thinking it.

Shuichi closes his eyes, finally daring to relax his body until the much needed sleep he’d been putting off for days finally swallows him whole.

-

He moves a bit, adjusting his position before blinking a few times, the midday sun that’s currently shining through his windows, tinting the grey and blue hues of his bedroom in a warm tint, blinding his vision.

Wait- Midday?

Shuichi shoots upright and blinks a few times in order to take in his surroundings properly. Everything looks exactly the way it usually does; mostly organised and more... empty, except for the neatly folded stack of clothes on the other side of the bed he’s currently in-

_ Wait. _

Shuichi can feel his eyes widen as realisation comes crushing down on him like a huge tidal wave.

Ouma-kun had been here, been in his apartment, in his bed.

_ He’s back. _

The detective stumbles out of his bed hastily, back into his kitchen where he finally finds the object he’s looking for. He exhales in relief before grabbing his phone and taking it back to his bedroom in order to plug it into his charger.

The detective sits on his bed patiently after flopping down on it ungracefully, waiting for the black of his screen to finally light up.

In his opinion it takes way too long for the small spinning wheel to appear but as soon as it does and he’s typed in his password Shuichi opens his messenger app and clicks on the most recent messages he’d received, without even bothering to look at the sender.

**[11:45] Iruma Miu:** He’s back

**[11:45] Iruma Miu:** Holy fuck Shyhara the teink is baxk

So it really hadn’t been a dream after all. Shuichi silently exhales in relief and lets himself fall back down against the mattress and pillows before typing out a reply.

**[13:27] Saihara Shuichi:** I know

-

Considering that it had been storming for most of the night the weather outside honestly looks beautiful in Shuichi’s opinion.

The sky is bright blue, the sun is shining and the weather could honestly pass as june or something if it weren’t for the freezing temperatures and the very few leaves hanging off all trees and bushes.

Shuichi doesn’t even like the weird transitioning period between autumn and winter. The weather is bad most of the time, consisting of seemingly never ending rainfall and the accompanying wind which only causes Shuichi to look like god knows what happened when he arrives at work. But it’s admittedly really nice today, even causes the piles of leaves that are still left to look less lonely in the shining sun. (It’s a silly thought really.) There are only a few white fluffy clouds scattered over the sky as well and Shuichi can’t help but take it as a good omen.

He keeps taking in his surroundings before shouldering his bag and continuing his walk. The air is surprisingly fresh too, considering his current location, and thus he’s finally able to think clearly for once. Something he hasn’t been able to do for a while now.

He needs answers, more than anything and after waiting for nearly two weeks he thinks they are more than due.

After Ouma-kun had shown up at his doorstep last night his mind had appeared completely wiped and the thought of asking the other any questions regarding his current state hadn’t even crossed his mind. (Something he still curses himself for, although, maybe it would’ve scared the other away, who knows.)

But he _was_ going to get his answers and that as soon as possible. The detective thinks he definitely deserves them for all the worrying and anxiety he’s experienced the past days. On top of that he plans on finally addressing the other’s lies and to hopefully get something out of it as well.  Because despite everything he still wants this thing between them to work and for that he needs answers, answers and especially the truth.

The fallen leaves left on the streets of Tokyo crunch underneath his boots and the sound of speeding cars in the background fills his ears.

Despite having a clear goal in mind the detective has admittedly no idea on how to actually approach the other. Never before had he seen Ouma-kun so emotional and unsure as yesterday and only the thought of it makes him anxious and upset. At this point the detective is pretty sure that something must’ve happened. Ouma-kun hadn’t worn a jacket or anything of the sort which does concern the detective as it suggests rather... dangerous theories, theories he definitely didn’t like nor wanted to be true.

Shuichi shakes his head, aiming to rid himself of those kind of thoughts. He’d try to approach the topic as carefully as possible, no prejudices whatsoever.  He just hopes the other will be in the right mental state to respond to his questions though, because the detective definitely didn’t want to push Ouma-kun or force him into anything. If yesterday was anything to go by Shuichi was admittedly rather worried though.

The familiar shop ends up coming into view sooner than anticipated and Shuichi inhales and exhales briefly, stealing himself for... whatever was going to happen next. His heart seems to nearly jump out of his chest with how rapidly it’s currently beating and the detective tells it to shut up internally (to unsurprisingly no avail, really.)

The sun keeps shining and he really hopes it’s indeed a good sign as he swiftly takes a few steps towards the cafe’s glass doors and pushes one of them open.

The warm air and sweetly familiar smell of the coffee shop he’s come to adore wafts towards him as he takes in the interior of the cafe.

Ouma-kun is currently standing next to a table a few metres away from him, apparently talking to an elderly couple seated at said table but turns around immediately at the jingle caused by the entrance door swinging open.

He grins at him, all toothy and cheerful and Shuichi can feel his world skid to a halt.

Because right now, in this very moment with the waiter standing only a few metres away from him, looking nearly exactly as he did two weeks ago, it’s near impossible to imagine that something had actually transpired at his apartment last night.

Purple eyes stare into golden ones and Shuichi can’t seem to move a muscle.

Doubt and worry begin to nag at him and he can’t form any coherent thoughts. Because this- this just couldn’t be real. What he’d seen, what he’d experienced, none of this added up to the current situation he found himself in.

Perhaps he was stupid, perhaps he should be glad about this but it just seems so _unrealistic_ and doesn’t make sense and he just-

Suddenly those violet eyes are right in front of him, nearly looking worried, and the other raises his voice. “Saihara-chan are you-“

Mere stutters seem to leave him as soon as he opens his mouth. “No. No, what the- I-I d-don’t?”

Ouma-kun exhales and just puts one of his hands on Shuichi’s arms _while_ _still grinning up at him what even-_ “Listen Saihara-chan you know where the break room is right? I’ll be there in a second but... can you just go there for now?”

Normally he might’ve argued with him, but instead he just ends up nodding dumbly and makes his way over to the familiar door leading to said room. Shuichi proceeds to open it slowly and carefully before stepping inside, unsure of what to do or how to behave.

Well this hadn’t gone as well as expected. Although- Maybe it was a good thing that the other was seemingly back to his usual self? But then again... was any of that previous behaviour even real? If he compares Ouma-kun’s behaviour to the one from yesterday...

It just made no sense. Once again it made _absolutely no sense at all._

He’s startled out of his thoughts when the door swings open and Ouma-kun stumbles inside. “Hm why did Saihara-chan have to show up at such a busy time?”

Was the other kidding?

Shuichi finds himself frowning at the question. “O-Ouma-kun you can’t expect me to-“

The waiter just waves a hand at him dismissively before walking over to his side and flopping down on one of the nearby chairs. “Soo... Why is mister detective here anyway?” His voice is still so awfully cheerful it nearly seems fake. Perhaps it is.

But the question of why he was here? What kind of question was that?

“I-I think it’s obvious,” he takes a deep breath, “you showed up at my apartment close to midnight, completely drenched and with nothing on you except for some clothes after two weeks of just... disappearing?! So if you’re trying to ask me why I’m here- I’m here because- because I need answers Ouma-kun, I was _worried_ about you don’t you understand? What did you expect me to do? To just sit still and do nothing? To not care?”

So many emotions flitter over the waiter’s face before settling into a mask devoid of any emotions whatsoever, so fast Shuichi fails to catch even a single one of them. Ouma-kun proceeds to just shake his head before responding.

“You need answers _of course_ you do. What I expected you to do though? Honestly? I don’t know actually. After all, you don’t even know me, do you? So why does, or should it even matter to you? I mean sure, If you were to disappear for two weeks I would get upset too but god,” he throws his hands in the air and gets up in order to take a step towards him, “you’re basically _obsessed_.”

Obsessed? Him? What-

Shuichi clenches his fists at the other’s accusations. Was he serious? To label him as _obsessed?_

“You- You came to _me,_ at _my_ apartment door close to midnight and you were drenched, you looked _frightened_ Ouma-kun,” the detective doesn’t know if it’s just his imagination playing tricks on him but he could’ve sworn he saw the other flinch at his words, “I-It’s true that I haven’t known you for long but I’ve never seen you like that before and- god i’m just worried okay?”

Silence.

It’s completely silent between them and Shuichi hates it, it’s uncomfortable and thick and he faintly wishes he could just cut right through it with a knife. His skin begins to crawl and he begins to hate everything about this, why couldn’t the other just be honest and clear with him?

Suddenly the waiter heaves a laugh, but not one of the warm, giggly ones Shuichi came to adore but the same one as yesterday: laced with acidity and bitterness.

“You’re worried? Why?”

And another response that only makes Shuichi grow more and more confused  “Why? Don’t you understand? You looked terrified and you were shaking I-“

“Saihara-chan don’t _you_ understand?,” the detective startles slightly as violet eyes move in order to glare up at him, the previous mask of no emotions completely destroyed at this point. Ouma-kun just looks enraged now and the expression on his face is so unfamiliar and _genuine_ it makes Shuichi grow even more confused, something he admittedly hadn’t even deemed possible. “I’m not asking for- for details of the situation itself. I know what exactly happened, I was there in case you haven’t noticed. I want to know why, why you were worried, _why_ you even seem to care about me?”

Everything skids to a halt for the second time that day and all Shuichi can do is stare at the person in front of him.

No words, no sentences seem to form or leave him and so he’s just left staring, staring into two big sees of violet right in front him.

The waiter breathes in shakily and averts his gaze before ultimately replying.  “That’s what I thought.”

Ouma-kun takes a step back and Shuichi moves before he has the time to think. He holds onto the other’s purple sleeve and violet eyes are on his own once again.

“I-I- don’t... know but-“

The other looks as if Shuichi had just proceeded to punch him in the throat. “You what?”

And words just continue to spill out of him with no direction or plan whatsoever. “I- I don’t know- I know that’s probably not what you want to hear but-“

A scoff. “Yeah, okay.”

The detective can feel his eyes widen at the reply. “O-Okay?”

Ouma-kun just narrows his eyes at him. “Yes. Okay. What do you want me to say? We’re clearly not getting anywhere with this,” he wiggles his arm out of Shuichi’s grip and turns around to walk towards the door before coming to a stop in front of it.

“I admittedly don’t know why I’m even saying this, I really don’t but- but I actually believed you for a second. Believed that this-,” he heaves another laugh which honestly sounds more dejected than anything else, “you know what? Never mind, it’s not like it matters. I’d say have a nice life or whatever but I’m positive that we’ll see each other again so, goodbye detective.”

“Ouma-kun wait-“

But it’s too late, the door closes with a thud and Shuichi knows he’s messed up.

He faintly wonders how he could’ve messed this up so badly, but there’s a part of him that’s telling him he’s missing something, missing something very vital and if the detective wants to fully understand the conversation that had just transpired he’d have to fill in the blank first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *exhales dramatically and leans back in chair* well that went absolutely horrible


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shuichi takes a deep breath. Alright, here goes nothing.
> 
> “Y-Yeah I didn’t really think this whole thing through, I never- never thought about how you might feel and-“
> 
> The other cuts him off again by raising a hand in a dismissive manner. “Wait so you think this is about my feelings?”
> 
> “I- I don’t know! There’s a lot I don’t know about you Ouma-kun but- but I want to figure this out, I want to figure you out because- because I want this to work.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next week will be rlly busy for me so while i do have the next chapter written already i doubt that i’ll be able to edit it in time so,, if i don’t manage to update next thursday that’s why <3

“Wait, wait slow down,” Kaede shakes her head slightly after interrupting Shuichi’s rambling, “you’re trying to tell me that he’s been missing for two weeks and you didn’t even bother to tell me?”

Alright, perhaps he should’ve expected that response. No that’s not quite true, he _had_ honestly expected exactly that response. It’s not like Shuichi could blame her, he’d basically stumbled into his best friend’s apartment, seemingly incoherent thoughts spilling from his lips like a faucet that had been turned up all the away. A part of him was actually surprised she’d managed to catch onto anything he’d rambled about at all, he’s sure most people wouldn’t’ve been able to. (Maybe that was just due to the experience of him spilling his guts to her so many times in the past though.)

The realisation that she’d probably be upset about him not telling her about given circumstances earlier, especially since he was supposed to have called her yesterday, had only faintly crossed his mind even though a part of him had expected it, waited for it in a weird subdued kind of way.

But of course he still finds himself mildly flustered and basically stumbles over his words, just like he used to do near constantly. (An embarrassing habit really, he’s faintly reminded of dark days in his middle and high school phase, all a blurry mess of anxiety and parents that were disappointed constantly no matter what he did or achieved.) So he swallows deeply, aiming to still calm his racing heart down before replying. “I- Yeah- I was planning on but then Amami-kun showed up and I-“

Now her confused frown melts into one of sad disappointment _and he’d really done it hadn’t he-_

“Honestly Shuichi? We’re best friends aren’t we? We-,” she cuts herself off by heaving a sigh, “You can’t just use stuff like that as an excuse to not tell me important things.”

And another person he’d let down in one day. If he continues to keep this up he’ll have a big nice record of people he’d managed to disappoint so far by the end of the week.

“I-I’m sorry.”

In Hindsight this day had gone to absolute shit the moment Ouma-kun had entered the break room of his own workplace. Shuichi is currently still trying to process what exactly had even happened after that, but everything had just happened so fast that he’s just confused and worried at this point. Shuichi doesn’t know anything regarding what happened in those two weeks, doesn’t know how it had affected the other either, but he knows he’s missing something, knows that something must’ve happened for the waiter to act that way.

After walking out of the cafe in a daze, unable to register literally anything around him, he’d called Kaede without even thinking about it properly. And now here they were, seated on the couch in her apartment, his best friend looking incredibly disappointed and thus making Shuichi feel even worse even though he knows he probably deserves it.

He only realises he’d closed his eyes as Kaede drapes an arm over his shoulder and raises her voice. “Hey it’s- It’s okay, I mean- Okay it’s not but! It’s nothing unforgivable so please don’t look that miserable and open your eyes? Please? We’ll just go through the whole situation again and then we’ll figure something out, alright?”

The detective opens his eyes and nods dumbly. God where should he even start? Things were just so confusing and Shuichi himself was still trying to process everything that had transpired in the last few hours.

Then again he’s still trying to process that all of it had actually happened, that it’s actually real and not just a weird fabrication of his imagination.

“O-Okay so uh he’s been missing for two weeks as I told you and ah Iruma-san said it’s nothing unusual really but- but he’s been missing for two weeks while his usual trips usually last up to two or three days and- And I-I tried-“

“You tried investigating, yeah I figured. Did you actually get somewhere though?”

Shuichi sighs. “N-No not really...”

“Okay,” the blonde makes a humming noise before leaning slightly towards him, “and then he showed up at your apartment looking like god knows what happened?”

“Y-Yeah, and then today he just- he just looked like nothing even happened like god you should’ve seen him it was close to scary! And then he- I- I wanted answers obviously, I mean he disappeared for weeks and he-,” the detective shakes his head, “he just blocked off completely and- and he asked me why-“

Now it’s Kaede’s turn to look confused. “Why?”

“Yeah he- I know it’s weird it doesn’t seem to fit I- He wanted to know why I even cared as if, as if hinting towards someth-“

“Okay woah slow down detective. So you guys had your... fight or whatever and then what? What did you reply?”

“I- I told him I didn’t know. And then he- he got upset and,” he inhales sharply, “he said goodbye and walked away?” Shuichi shakes his head. This was all still so unclear to him and just didn’t make sense in the least, he’s sure he was missing something during their conversation though and if he could just-

“Shuichi.”

“Y-Yeah?” he replies, turning his head to look at his best friend only to see her... frowning at him?

“Okay uhm how do I say this... do you know why he asked and seemingly reacted so strongly to your lack of answer?”

Shuichi feels his brows furrow in confusion at the question. “Uh, no? But I’m sure it’s not just because of his emotions or feelings, Kaede I’m definitely missing something if only-“

“Ever thought about the fact that’s it’s about exactly that though? Just his _emotions_?”

What?

“I- No? I mean it just wouldn’t fit that wa-“

“Shuichi,” she puts a hand on one of his own, “not everyone is a puzzle for you to figure out. Some people just act based on their emotions and not some... some facts or whatever, you know.”

“But Kaede you don’t-“

She shakes her head. “No. Listen he- I don’t know what he’s been through in those two weeks, neither of us do, but perhaps he just really wanted to know? I mean you do care about him right?”

Shuichi starts growing frustrated, this was definitely not where he’d wanted this conversation to go.

“Of course I do but-“

“Then perhaps that was what he wanted to hear? Like reassurance? Really wanting a reason for why you’re so obsessed with attaining answers from him? Not like I blame you of course, I’d probably be desperate to know as well if it’s regarding someone i care about and all...”

There it was again, _obsessed_.

The detective shakes his head for seemingly the hundredth time. But he was so sure that-

“Shuichi I know what you’re thinking, I’ve known you for years after all but- please, please just- just reconsider and try not to think for a detective for once.”

Try not to think for a detective? Try to tell that part of him that keeps nagging at him that there’s so much more to it other than Ouma-kun’s feelings to shut up? That maybe he really was overthinking all of this?

He ends up inhaling deeply, considering Kaede’s words again before nodding to himself. “What time is it?”

Kaede startles at the question, apparently not having expected it and quickly checks her watch. “It’s uh nearly 5pm?”

“O-Okay that’s- that’s good.” Shuichi gets up, slightly nodding to himself in the process and eventually makes his way to the front door. It doesn’t take long for Kaede to follow, seemingly having anticipated him to do so after asking said question. Shuichi just hastily shrugs on his jacket and shoes, turning around only for his best friend to wrap her arms around him, nearly squeezing him to death while doing so. “Nghhh Kaede-“

She lets go quickly and smiles at him, one of her sunny reassuring smiles that could honestly light up the world and Shuichi can’t help but smile back at her. He loves her, he really does and he thinks- He thinks that maybe he should really try taking her advice to heart and to act on it. There’s one thing he’s sure about after all; he couldn’t just wait and do nothing. He’s been doing way too much of that recently and Shuichi refuses to do so any longer if he actually has the chance to do something for once.

“You can do this Shuichi, I know you’ll do the right thing.”

The detective laughs nervously before fiddling with his coat. “I just hope he hasn’t left yet... a-and that he’ll listen to me.”

“I bet he will! Text me how it goes though okay? And now hurry!” She practically shoves him out the door, raising a thumbs up at him and slamming it closed again, as if scared Shuichi would come bolting back inside any second. And honestly? A part of him really wants to. A part of him is scared that this might actually be the wrong thing to do, scared that he’ll make this so much worse, scared that perhaps he should’ve trusted his intuition more. The other part of him knows what he has to do though, knows that Kaede’s words aren’t complete nonsense and might have more truth to them than anticipated and so he only wraps his coat tighter around himself, starting his walk to the nearby subway station.

-

As expected the cafe is still open and brightly lit. Behind the familiar glass doors Shuichi can actually make out various customers chatting and drinking inside. He even sees Iruma-san talking to a few customers and can’t keep himself from smiling. Shuichi checks his watch; It’s close to 6pm, so he should still be in time, or so he hopes.

He’s distantly aware of the fact that this whole thing is a huge gamble to take, that it could end so very badly and Shuichi would be lying to himself if he claimed that only the thought of it didn’t scare him. Still he finds himself coming to a stop a few feet away from said glass doors.

Okay, deep breaths.

It feels like ages before Shuichi finally manages to muster up the courage to finally press down the handle, pushing the doors open. The familiar jingle almost sounds mocking to Shuichi but he reminds himself that it’s probably just his imagination playing tricks on him.

He spots the person he’s looking for almost immediately, currently hunched over something behind the counter in the middle of the room, purple hair blocking his face from view. Ouma-kun seems to be noting something down and the detective ends up taking a few steps forward tentatively, afraid that if he were to walk any faster the other would perhaps notice him and vanish. But Shuichi eventually manages to reach the counter without anything of the sort happening, able to make out the other’s quiet mumbling upon coming to a stop in front of it.

“Mmm wait give me a second-“

Shuichi faintly realises that the other probably thinks he’s just some random customer waiting to announce their order. He just continues scribbling something on a block of paper and the detective’s anxiety only keeps increasing by every second. Should he say something to announce his presence or would that just scare the other away?

Suddenly Ouma-kun snaps his head up, smiling at him only for said smile to turn into a careful mask devoid of any emotion upon realising who’s currently standing in front of him.

“Good evening, what can I do for you?”

The words sound harsh and malicious, nearly causing Shuichi to shiver at the tone but the detective just shakes his head before replying. “O-Ouma-kun I-“

The waiter just narrows his eyes before interrupting him. “What do you want? A black coffee?”

“I- What? No, I-I came to apologise-“

“You came to apologise?” he asks, voice as blank and neutral as the look on his face.

Shuichi takes a deep breath. Alright, here goes nothing.

“Y-Yeah I didn’t really think this whole thing through, I never- never thought about how you might feel and-“

The other cuts him off again by raising a hand in a dismissive manner. “Wait so you think this is about my _feelings_?”

“I- I don’t know! There’s a lot I don’t know about you Ouma-kun but- but I want to figure this out, I want to figure you out because- because I want this to work.”

It’s completely silent between them now, the only cheerful sound coming from the chattering guests spread around them. Ouma-kun just keeps staring at him and Shuichi is at a loss for what to do. Should he just go on? There’s so much more he wants to say, so much more he wants the other to know.

Without warning Ouma-kun shakes his head before walking around the counter and dragging Shuichi along by his arm. He pushes the huge glass doors open with more vigour than necessary, pulling the detective outside and coming to a stop a few metres away from the entrance. Now he fixes Shuichi with a disbelieving look which morphs into the same emotionless mask from earlier rather quickly before raising his voice. “What?”

Shuichi inhales deeply, trying to gather the courage to utter his next words.

“You said I’m obsessed earlier and you know what? Maybe I am, maybe- maybe I really am obsessed with finding out the truth a-and figuring everything out and if that’s too much for you and it’s throwing you off I can totally understand you know!”

Ouma-kun’s brows begin to furrow ever so slightly, and though his next words still leave him as emotionless as before he can tell that the other is probably beginning to grow confused or even disbelieving. “Saihara-chan what are you-“

Still he cuts him off, and though Shuichi admittedly doesn’t even know how to express all his thoughts properly, or how to even put them into words, they just proceed to spill out of him anyway.

“No. Please, Just- just listen okay? I- My best friend’s boyfriend he- he’s a complete mystery, they’ve been a couple for like- 2 years and I still know close to nothing about him, he’s constantly on his weird trips and to be honest? I don’t think even Kaede knows what he does. A-Anyway what I’m trying to say is that I- I started taking little notes on him, put them all in a drawer inside my office and well I guess you can figure out the rest.”

“You stored information about him in a _drawer_?”

This time Ouma-kun fails to hide the complete and utter disbelief behind his words and though it probably shouldn’t it feels like a small victory to the detective. Anything was better than the other’s mask devoid of any emotion and words that simultaneously sound harsh and empty.

“Y-Yeah I actually managed to find out the company he works for as well a-and when he found out how exactly he just- he just laughed and called me weird and- and he’s right I mean, who does that? And then, then there’s you Ouma-kun. You’ve got- so many secrets and lies involving you and I’ve been nearly obsessed with figuring them out the closer I got to you, once you disappeared it just got even worse and- and I still want to, I still want to figure you out and- and I finally know why. It’s- It’s not just because you’re one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met or because your whole existence and the things you say are so entirely captivating and enticing but- but because I care about you.

“You asked me why earlier and I- I couldn’t give you an answer, didn’t know how to. But the reason I couldn’t provide you with one wasn’t because I didn’t care or didn’t know the reason, it was simply because I couldn’t put it into words. In fact I still don’t but- but I’m going to try, going to try regardless because I want you to know why.

“I-I care about you because you deserve to be cared about and not just that, I _want_ to care about you as well, want to make you laugh about stupid things like me tripping outside your work or- or saying something embarrassing. I want to be close to you and care for you because you’re absolutely mesmerising and just- just you deserve a lot okay? I like you Ouma-kun, I like spending time with you and if that grosses you out and you don’t want to be involved with me anymore I can understa-“

He’s interrupted by small hands tugging him downward by the collar and soft lips crashing on his own.

And Shuichi can’t help but shut his eyes, basically melting into the other’s touch.

Ouma-kun’s lips move against his own, slowly but yet so perfectly and Shuichi faintly wonders if he’s just dreaming the whole thing. Shuichi can’t even begin to process the entire situation or even form any coherent thoughts, his brain just filled by the whole sensation of it and he faintly wishes to never let this go. When the other’s teeth scrape against his bottom lip he nearly sighs at the sensation, the feeling just being so _good_ and the faint taste of sweetness lingers as Ouma-kun ends up pulling away, a part of him internally screaming in protest at the movement.

They’re both slightly out of breath, little white clouds forming as they each exhale into the cool december air, both trying to catch their breath.

“Y-You know I wasn’t finished-“

The waiter just laughs breathlessly before replying. “Just- Shut up okay.”

“Ouma-kun I-“

Violet eyes redirect their gaze to stare into Shuichi’s own and he nearly ends up gasping at the sight. They’re so full of warmth it makes his heart swell inside his chest, causing him to silently thank Kaede and also himself for actually, probably, doing the right thing.

“It’s okay. I-,” the waiter actually looks embarrassed as a slight blush makes its way on his face, “probably overreacted. The last two weeks have just been... kind of rough.”

Shuichi nods and the other just sighs before shaking his head.

“Anyway Saihara-chan,” Ouma-kun grins up at him tiredly and the sight is so familiar it nearly makes the detective cry out in relief, “guess it was finally my turn to catch you off guard!”

“Ah I-I guess it was...”

He wouldn’t say the air is necessarily uncomfortable between them, the weird sense of relief and finally resolved tension still floating through the air, but still it’s... awkward. Apparently Ouma-kun must’ve noticed too as he ends up raising a finger to his lips in contemplation. “Hm does Saihara-chan want to wait outside while I grab my things?”

Not something he’d expected but definitely something the detective wouldn’t turn down. Shuichi thinks that maybe... maybe there’s still something to talk about, all of this admittedly happened so fast and it nearly felt too easy. (He should probably just shut up and be thankful but it’s hard to keep his mind from wandering.)

So Shuichi just nods curtly, earning him another grin from the waiter before he slips back inside. As he watches the glass doors swing closed Shuichi finds himself sighing in relief, while this honestly had gone way better than expected the tension inside of him still hadn’t managed to subside completely. The whole thing had been absolutely nerve racking and Shuichi had admittedly still been suspicious about whether pouring his heart out and basically confessing to the other would be the right call to make, but it had actually gone lengths better than he could’ve ever imagined.

So while it probably had been the right call to make, doing so had internally caused the detective in him to riot and to still leave him feeling... off. It’s not like he isn’t happy with the whole turn this conversation had taken just- Ouma-kun never really answered any of his questions. If you were to take his reaction, maybe he actually did seek some sort of confirmation for Shuichi’s feelings but still, he never did hear it from the other himself. He knows actions are supposed to speak louder than words but still... he would’ve liked to have _some_ sort of verbal confirmation.

Evidently even now Shuichi wasn’t a single step closer to figuring out a certain purple haired waiter, neither the other’s thoughts nor his intentions.

So should he just act like nothing had happened or actually speak about all the thoughts that still continue to occupy his mind? While he really doesn’t want to pressure the other, especially after everything that had just transpired, Shuichi does deserve some answers at least, or so he thinks.

“Hm what is my beloved thinking about?”

The detective startles slightly at the other’s sudden presence next to him. “A-Ah just-“

“Hmmm let me guess,” Ouma-kun raises a finger to his lips again and narrows his eyes at him, “you are probably thinking about how to act now.”

_ How did he- _

Ouma-kun loops one of his arms around his own, laughing while doing so. “I can read minds, didn’t I tell you my beloved?” Shuichi just shakes his head at the other’s antics. “Yeah Ouma-kun you did...”

As they fall into step the waiter raises his voice again. “To answer your question,” he stops walking to glance into the detective’s eyes, “I know that this must be confusing to you. To be honest it’s confusing for me as well! I can’t give you the answers you probably want just yet mister detective but... hopefully very soon.”

So he was actually considering it? Really considering telling Shuichi the truth and to not keep spewing more and more lies?

“Do you promise?”

The words leave him before he can stop himself, so meek and so full of hope Shuichi nearly cringes at the sound. But Ouma-kun doesn’t mock him like he’d nearly expected him to, instead he smiles sadly and goes on his tiptoes in order to press a quick kiss to Shuichi’s lips before nodding at him reassuringly.

“I promise.”

Shuichi knows those are only words, knows that they technically don’t have to mean anything, knows that those two words could just be another one of the waiter’s lies. But Shuichi finds himself wishing and actually believing that those two words are indeed honest and nothing but the truth.

The detective also knows that he won’t be able to just completely drop the topic and all his thoughts regarding it, but to have something, have this as reassurance that he will eventually receive answers to said thoughts causes at least some leftover tension in him to subside. Shuichi thinks that if Ouma-kun will actually give him answers to all his thoughts and questions eventually then... then he would be okay with that, he would trust in that, even if this entire day had been a complete and utter mess, he would believe in that.

A part of him reminds himself that the last time he’d trusted in the other he’d ended up not showing up for two entire weeks but Shuichi just shakes his head internally at the thought. Ouma-kun had shown up after all, hadn’t he? And though Shuichi doesn’t know the reason for why just yet, the fact that Ouma-kun had shown up at his own doorstep specifically surely had to account for something.

They continue walking shortly after, both of them surrounded by peaceful silence. The street lights scattered along their way fill their path with a warm glow and the fallen leaves underneath their boots crunch softly upon contact. Ouma-kun’s arm is looped around the detective’s own the entire walk, keeping him feeling weirdly content and relaxed. In addition he’s humming, just like he used to on their walks in the past, and Shuichi realises that he’d missed this. Them and their little walks.

They eventually come to a stop in front of his apartment complex sooner than he would’ve liked and Shuichi reluctantly detaches himself from the waiter, Ouma-kun staring up at him with those sees of violet, his purple locks swaying in the cold winter breeze. Shuichi doesn’t find it in him to turn away and walk upstairs, it just feels _wrong_ to leave the other after having him disappear for nearly two weeks and his mouth opens seemingly automatically at the thought.

“Do you-“

“Yes.” The detective’s eyes widen at the reply, Ouma-kun just laughing softly before taking a step towards him.

“Was it right to assume that mister detective wants me to stay the night once more?”

Shuichi blushes at the remark and current closeness between them. “Y-You don’t have to if you don’t want...”

Ouma-kun just rolls his eyes. “Silly detective, I already gave you my answer, didn’t I?”

Shuichi admittedly doesn’t know what to say, feeling himself gape at the other out of utter disbelief before eventually shaking his head and clearing his throat. “A-Alright then ah let us go upstairs?”

Ouma-kun grabs his arm before falling into step again. “Yuppers! Let’s go Saihara-chan!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow look guys they made up i bet everything is definitely fine now and shuichi just totally managed to hit the nail on the head w his emotional speech!!!!!  
> seriously though sometimes i regret not having written this fic in ouma’s pov everything would make sm more sense... anyway! hope this wasn’t too weird i promise there’s a reason for everything <33


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shuichi just rolls his eyes at the other’s antics before opening the fridge and taking out some eggs and vegetables. Someone had to do the cooking after all.
> 
> Another gasp. “Hmmm what’s that?”
> 
> The detective shuts the door before turning around at the sound of the other’s voice, his eyes widening immediately at the sight he’s greeted with. “O-Ouma-kun how did you-“
> 
> “Hmm? Wasn’t I supposed to? Come ooon Saihara-chan we’re adults, surely a bit of wine has never hurt anyone, not like we’re aiming to drown our sorrows or anything, right?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’m alive everyone!!! (i surprisingly made it through last n most of this week and i don’t know how)  
> ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀  
> anyway here’s a new chapter i’m sorry for not updating last week but everything was just rlly rlly busy for me :(  
> this one is such a rollercoaster and i don’t know how to feel about it but i guess it’s important for.. multiple reasons (you’ll see)  
> ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀  
> there are warnings for alcohol consumption and non consensual grinding though, just to warn some of you before reading <\3

“Oh wooow Saihara-chan’s apartment is so neat and tidy!”

Shuichi just rolls his eyes fondly at the other’s remark before raising his voice. “Ouma-kun you’ve been here before.”

“Mmm.”

He closes the wooden door behind them with a thud, already turning around in the waiter’s direction.

And feels himself frown at the sight.

Despite the other’s cheery remark Ouma-kun is currently just... standing in the middle of the detective’s hallway, gaze turned straight ahead and slightly glazed over. Shuichi can’t seem to pull his eyes away from the other, the sight so foreign and unfitting. Ouma-kun nearly looks... sad and before he knows it he’s touching the other’s shoulder tentatively, making him startle slightly at the contact. Again he can’t help but notice how unusual and out of place the reaction from the waiter seems to be, only keeping those worried thoughts inside his mind.

Unsurprisingly he catches himself rather quickly though, just shooting Shuichi a toothy grin before he even has the chance to prod. Ouma-kun proceeds to shrug off his shoes quickly before walking in the direction of the living room.

_ What... was that? _

Had Shuichi missed something? He knew things weren’t completely settled, far from it but still, Ouma-kun had appeared more composed after Shuichi’s confession than himself. Or was this really just his mind playing tricks on him, refusing to accept the turn their rather disastrous conversation from earlier that day had taken?

It’s only when the other calls out to him that Shuichi realises he’s still standing in the middle of his hallway with his shoes and coat on.

Ouma-kun whines loudly. “Saihara-chaaan are you gonna come join me now or what? It’s not nice for hosts to neglect their guests you know...”

“S-Sorry Ouma-kun just give me a second.” Shuichi shrugs off his coat and shoes rather hastily and joins the other in the nearby room.

Ouma-kun is still wearing his thick dark coat, knees pulled up to his chest and seated on his grey couch while fiddling with the detective’s tv remote. He admittedly looks kind of cute that way, and definitely younger than he actually is. Ouma-kun’s nose and cheeks are slightly red as well which only adds to the whole picture. Eventually the waiter just groans in annoyance though and throws his head back to stare at the ceiling. “Nghhh Saihara-chan this isn’t working.”

The detective just laughs fondly, the thought of the other honestly behaving like a child as well faintly crossing his mind while doing so. “Don’t laugh at me you sadist, this is a serious issue.” Now he’s scowling angrily at the detective and Shuichi can’t help but smile despite himself.

“Sorry Ouma-kun, I guess I really am a bad host huh?” Walking over to the other’s side while shaking his head he eventually takes the remote out of the waiter’s hands, turning the device on with the single push of a button. Shuichi turns his head to look at Ouma-kun only to find him staring at him, mumbling something illegible under his breath while quickly averting his gaze. “Uh also may I ask why you’re still wearing your jacket?”

That makes the waiter whip back around in order to frown at Shuichi as if he’d just asked the most idiotic question possible. “Well, _obviously_ because I’m cold.”

“And you didn’t think of the possibility to put on a sweater?” Now the waiter huffs and puts his knees down in order to lean towards the detective a bit. “And how would I do that my beloved? All my warm clothes are-“

“I could just give you one of mine.”

That shuts the other up abruptly and causes his eyes to widen in near disbelief. “You-“

Surprisingly Shuichi doesn’t have it in him to become flustered, after all he’d already lent the other his clothes before, right? “Wait a second I’ll be right back.” He stands up, leaving a still flabbergasted Ouma-kun behind and walks over to enter his bedroom.

He continues to open his wardrobe, pulling out one of the warmest sweaters he owns made out of fleecy navy material before making his way back to the other. Ouma-kun regards him with a look akin to surprise as the detective steps inside with the sweater in hand. Shuichi sits down next to the waiter, holding the sweater out for Ouma-kun to grab but the other just keeps staring at him instead and Shuichi starts growing antsy.

“O-Ouma-kun?”

That seems to do the trick as the other starts blinking at him as if coming back to his senses before shaking his head and grabbing the sweater Shuichi had held out to him seconds prior. Wordlessly he shrugs off his coat before pulling on the sweater and grinning at the detective. “Didn’t know you owned something this fancy mister detective!” He proceeds to grin smugly and makes a move to fix his now dishevelled hair and Shuichi can’t help smiling at the sight.

His sweater was (unsurprisingly) way too big on the other, making it seem as if Ouma-kun was drowning in the navy material of the sweater. His hair was still a mess despite his efforts, sticking up in various spots and inevitably causing him to look way younger.

_ Cute. _

Before Shuichi can prevent himself he feels his hand tucking one of the waiter’s purple hair strands behind his ear. Ouma-kun freezes immediately at the contact and Shuichi is about to retract his hand when violet eyes land on his own, causing him to freeze as well. Shuichi can’t help but stare into the other’s eyes, so up close and so pretty. He finds himself frowning though when he finds something in them akin to... sorrow?

Suddenly there’s a warm hand on his own before moving to intertwine their hands. “Hmmm Saihara-chan don’t you want to feed your guest?”

The smile the other shoots him nearly looks... forced but before Shuichi has the chance to keep pondering over it the waiter jumps off the couch, pulling the detective with him in the process before ultimately cocking an eyebrow in question. “So? Are we going to make something to eat now? I’m reaaally hungry you know.” Ouma-kun proceeds to scowl at him and Shuichi can hear himself sighing in exasperation.

“Sure, follow me.”

So they end up walking through the open door to their left which leads to the detective’s kitchen, Ouma-kun letting out a delighted gasp as they enter before making a move to inspect every single drawer in the room. Shuichi just rolls his eyes at the other’s antics before opening the fridge and taking out some eggs and vegetables. Someone had to do the cooking after all.

Another gasp. “Hmmm what’s that?”

The detective shuts the door before turning around at the sound of the other’s voice, his eyes widening immediately at the sight he’s greeted with. “O-Ouma-kun how did you-“

“Hmm? Wasn’t I supposed to? Come ooon Saihara-chan we’re adults, surely a bit of wine has never hurt anyone, not like we’re aiming to drown our sorrows or anything, _right_?” Ouma-kun proceeds to whirl the bottle around in his hand while grinning at the detective. Shuichi knows this is a bad idea, god knows things get messy once alcohol is involved but he’s had the bottle that’s currently in the other’s possession for seemingly ages now and as Ouma-kun had said, a bit won’t hurt, right?

Shuichi heaves a defeated sigh before replying, “Fine.”

Ouma-kun winks at him before putting the bottle down on the counter and joining Shuichi. “So mister detective, anything I can assist you with?”

“I admittedly don’t think letting you assist me with cooking is a good idea.”

Ouma-kun gasps loudly at the remark. “Wow Saihara-chan so rude, and here I thought you actually meant all the sickeningly sweet things you said to me earlier!” The detective feels his cheeks heat up at the remark. “I-I did just- Please, you know you burn literally everything you touch.”

“Then just give me something I can’t burn dumbass. How about those over there?” He makes a move to point towards the goods resting on the countertop next to Shuichi. “You do know that you have to fry these right?” Ouma-kun groans in exasperation before replying, “Yes I do, I was obviously talking about the vegetables. Surely you can allow me to chop some of those?”

The idea of Ouma-kun with a sharp-edged knife sends shivers down his spine and definitely not in a good way. Shuichi faintly has to remind himself that the waiter is indeed a functional adult, at least on paper, so he should admittedly be able to handle cutting some vegetables.

“Alright, just- be careful.”

He rolls his eyes again. “Please, careful is like, my middle name or something.” Ouma-kun grabs the vegetables and moves them a bit to the left, next to where he’d placed the bottle of wine seconds prior. Shuichi just sighs softly as he pulls out a knife and a chopping block while the waiter proceeds to wash his hands. As Ouma-kun starts approaching previous objects Shuichi makes a move to grab the eggs and turn on the stove. He still has some left over rice so perhaps he could heat that up as well?

While the detective starts frying said eggs he hears the steady sound of chopping filling the air accompanied by slight humming. Shuichi just continues cracking said eggs, slowly filling the pan with them. They sizzle as they start to fry and Shuichi smiles to himself as Ouma-kun continues to hum some weird tune he’s never heard before.

Suddenly the humming stops, followed by a weird pregnant pause. The detective is about to turn around and ask when the sound of cutting fills the air again, this time louder and faster than before.

_ What- _

And then there’s a different sound filling the air, followed by a loud hiss and the clang of a knife dropping to the floor. Shuichi spins around in alarm and can’t keep himself from yelling. “O-Ouma-kun!”

Shuichi moves quickly, prying the other’s hand away from holding the cut on the side of his ringfinger and grabs his wrist. Blood keeps flowing out of the wound in a nearly alarming amount and Shuichi quickly pulls the other behind him to enter his bathroom. “Sit down.”

The other complies but doesn’t utter a single word.

Luckily the cut isn’t too deep so nothing major got injured in the process and Shuichi nearly ends up sighing in relief. Instead he continues to shake his head as he pulls out his first aid kid, proceeding to carefully wrap one of the bandages around the other’s finger. Shuichi scowls at the now wrapped injury and raises his eyes to look at the other’s face. Ouma-kun’s face is weirdly devoid of any emotions as he bites one corner of his lips, a stark contrast to the smug or even apologetic grin he’d been expecting. It actually seems as if Ouma-kun is about to raise his voice, when a loud beeping sound chimes through the detective’s apartment.

_ Oh shit, the eggs- _

Shuichi jumps up hastily, running back into his kitchen to turn off the stove and to move the pan of his now (unsurprisingly) completely burned and smoking eggs off of it. The detective groans as he throws said eggs in the trash and massages his temples. How had they even managed to burn this fast- Had both of them really been inside his bathroom for this long?

_ Well either way this had been an absolute disaster. _

His gaze flickers over to the chopped vegetables on the wooden block and Shuichi is surprised to realise that the thin slices actually look professionally and evenly cut. Shortly after he hears shuffling noises behind him, causing him to slowly turn around to the source if it.  Ouma-kun’s face comes into view and it’s still completely empty, the sight honestly scaring the detective a bit.

“I’m taking it the eggs are burned now?”

It’s more of a statement than an actual question and the detective just nods stiffly in response. “If you want you can-“

The ringing of his phone disrupts him again and Shuichi quickly apologises before rushing to his bag which he’d left in the hallway earlier. Hastily he pulls out his phone, answering before the other has the chance to hang up.

“Hello?”

“Good afternoon Saihara-san! Apologies for calling this late, you didn’t show up at work today as boss had proposed so I wanted to make sure you’ll be back tomorrow?”

“Ah I-I yeah I’m sorry I,” he takes a deep breath, “I’ll definitely be back tomorrow.”

Shuichi can practically hear Saito-san’s frown as she utters her next words. “Are you sure? If you don’t feel well you should take all the time you need.”

“Yes I’m okay now, sorry for my performance the past few days I know it’s been inappro-“

“No worries Saihara-san! I’m just calling because there’s something I wanted to show you tomorrow but I’m sorry for likely interrupting you...”

“N-No you’re good don’t worry!”

“Oh okay! Then get some rest detective, I’ll see you tomorrow!”

She hangs up shortly after and Shuichi sighs in relief, at least his colleague wasn’t upset at him. He’s about to continue shutting off his phone when he sees the incoming notification of his messenger app and clicks on it.

**[17:44] Akamatsu Kaede:** Shuichi!!! How did it go?

**[17:58] Akamatsu Kaede:** Helloooo?

**[17:58] Akamatsu Kaede:** :(

**[18:45] Akamatsu Kaede:** Shuichi you’re so mean

**[18:46] Saihara Shuichi:** Kaede I’m so sorry! It went well though, I promise I’ll call you tomorrow okay?

**[18:46] Akamatsu Kaede:** Well detective you better not forget or else I’ll beat you

Shuichi starts shivering at the last message as he pictures the whole thing happen, before making his way back to the kitchen. He admittedly feels kind of bad for neglecting his colleague and best friend and silently vows to be better in future. Tomorrow would be the best way to prove it anyway! And he’s honestly kind of curious about the thing Saito-san had mentioned as well...

He’s pulled out of his thoughts at the sight of Ouma-kun standing on his tiptoes in front of one of his open cupboards, apparently trying to reach the top shelve.

Shuichi can’t stop himself from laughing quietly at the sight which makes the waiter whip around almost immediately. “Hey I know you’re a sadist and all but you know, you could actually help me instead of just standing there!”

Ouma-kun continues to scowl angrily as Shuichi makes his way towards him, faintly noticing some steaming rice in a bowl mixed with a few vegetables and something brownish, making the detective’s eyes widen at the sight.

“Did you-“

A groan. “Yes I did, now give me some smaller bowls, pleaseee?”

The detective laughs again at the other’s antics, having to remind himself again that the man standing in front of him _is_ indeed older than him (by a few months but nonetheless).

Shaking his head he reaches up effortlessly and pulls out two white bowls and places them on the counter next to them.  Ouma-kun smiles at him and it actually looks genuine, causing the detective to mimic the expression.

“Alright,” the waiter clasps his hands together, “then let’s taste the super awesome food I made!”

Shuichi ends up shaking his head fondly in reply. “Sure Ouma-kun.”

-

The later it gets, the less rice is left in their respective bowls (which actually tasted really good) and the less dark liquid swirls in the wine bottle Ouma-kun had grabbed. Shuichi is still taking sips of his first glass while Ouma-kun is currently at his... third? He’d honestly lost count, rather fixating on the show currently playing on his tv screen.

“Saihara-chaaan the bottle is empty!”

He turns to face the waiter sitting next to him, raising an eyebrow before replying. “Already?”

The waiter huffs. “What do you mean _already_? We’ve been sitting here for like two hours.”

Shuichi just shrugs in reply before emptying his own glass. “Do you want me to get another bottle?”

“You don’t have to.”

“I can if you want?”

Admittedly Shuichi doesn’t see a problem with it. Though he’s a slow drinker he’d probably have one more glass himself and Ouma-kun really did seem to enjoy the red liquid with how fast he emptied his glass, he assumes the other would only drink one more glass or something anyway, right? On top of that the waiter doesn’t really seem too impacted by the beverage, the only notable difference being his slightly tinted cheeks and a more relaxed attitude than before. In addition the bottle Ouma-kun had picked was rather small so...

So the detective gets up in order to get another bottle of wine and brings a bag of crisps along with him too.

As Shuichi flops down on the couch Ouma-kun lets out a small cheer and the detective can’t stop himself from smiling in reply, the waiter was honestly kind of cute.

-

As a weight begins to settle on Shuichi’s right shoulder the detective blinks open his eyes and continues to slowly take in his current surroundings. The bag of crisps on the small table in front of him seems empty in contrast to the wine glass next to it. He frowns as he realises he’d only taken one or two sips from it and his eyes wander to the glass next to it, seemingly lacking any liquid swirling around in it.

The bottle in between seems pretty empty as well and Shuichi shakes his head.

The moment he hears a small groan coming from his right he realises that doing so had probably been the wrong thing to do. Shuichi can feel his eyes widen as he realises _who_ exactly had uttered said sound and begins craning his neck to look down at purple locks next to him. He pauses the tv to check the time, realising that it’s already close to midnight.

They should probably go to bed...

“Hey Ouma-kun.” The detective pokes the other softly which just earns him a slight stir followed by another whine.

“Mmmnn?”

Despite the waiter not even bothering to open his eyes Shuichi decides to carry on. “Ouma-kun you have to get up, it’s already close to midnight.” The other mumbles something inaudible and Shuichi cranes his neck even further in order to understand.

“-on’t want! It’s always sooo cold and and little Shu jus’ makes me saad cause evwyonesomeantothm.”

The detective can feel his brows furrow in confusion, what the hell was the other talking about?

“What are you talking about?”

Ouma-kun turns his head slightly to pout up at him. “Saihara-chan is gonna send me hoome but I don’t want to because it’s always so cold and-“

“But Ouma-kun that’s not what-“

The other just continues to shake his head violently, causing the detective to huff. Well this surely wasn’t going anywhere, talking or even negotiating with the other seemingly isn’t doing the trick so perhaps...

Shuichi slowly detaches himself from the other in order to stand up which only earns him another whine. The detective decides to just ignore Ouma-kun and bows down a bit in order to scoop the waiter up. As soon as his arms slide under the other’s knees and back Ouma-kun stops whining and opens his eyes in shock. “Wh- What are you doing?”

“Carrying you to my bedroom obviously, what does it look like?”

The other just scowls at the detective in a confused manner before closing his eyes again, nuzzling against Shuichi’s neck as he carries him across the hallway to his bedroom. He places the waiter on top of his blanket gently before pulling out some more comfortable clothes and placing them next to him. Ouma-kun sits up groggily, rubbing his eyes as Shuichi makes a move to turn on the light to his adjoined bathroom.

“You can change in there if you want.”

Ouma-kun just nods dumbly, while admitting looking kind of confused.

“Where are you going?”

The question nearly sounds anxious and Shuichi faintly recalls the last exchange they’d had when he’d tried leaving the other in his bedroom, the other proceeding to ask the exact same question.

_ “Where are you going?” _

_ The question is asked with no emotions whatsoever, nearly causing the detective to shiver at the tone. “I- I was going to get my futon to sleep in the liv-“ _

_ “What? No.” _

_ Now the waiter actually sounds slightly upset and confused, nearly making Shuichi sigh in relief, which it really shouldn’t. He turns back towards the other which causes Ouma-kun to drop his hand back in his lap. _

_ Shuichi clears his throat awkwardly. “I- I just thought-“ _

_ “You can’t let me sleep in your bed while you sleep on the floor.” _

_ “I- I technically wouldn’t-“ _

_ “No.” _

He decides that he probably shouldn’t try pursuing the same thing as back then, god knows how the waiter would react in his current state.

So he tries smiling at him reassuringly instead before replying. “I’m just going to clean up a bit, I’ll be right back.”

“Pffffine.”

The waiter flops back down on the bed with a pout and Shuichi decides that drunk Ouma-kun is kind of adorable as he makes a move to leave the room.

-

When he gets back the waiter is already in bed, appearing to be asleep. Sighing in relief he pulls out one of his own pyjamas from a drawer and enters his bathroom to get ready.

He’s honestly tired too, but definitely quite sober. Shuichi only had one glass to drink after all, unlike the waiter currently sleeping in his bed. In all honesty the detective wonders how much the other actually had to drink and finds himself frowning at the question. Despite Ouma-kun behaving like a whiny toddler and rambling about weird stuff there doesn’t seem to be much of a change to his behaviour which the detective is admittedly glad about. Shuichi _really_ doesn’t want to picture any other scenarios right now.

He finishes brushing his teeth and changing his clothes, continuing to turn off the light to slip under the covers on the left side of the bed. Shuichi smiles at the peacefully sleeping figure next to him and turns off the lamp on his bedside table as well after quickly setting the morning alarm on his phone. (The fact that he nearly forgot frightens him a bit.)

As soon as he turns off said light and snuggles under the warm covers Ouma-kun inches closer to him and Shuichi puts one of his arms around the other, earning him a quiet but pleased hum from the waiter. Shuichi closes his eyes, already feeling his body relax and the very much needed sleep creeping closer when there’s shifting movement next to him and a warm breath close to his ear.

“Shuichi?”

A mere whisper, but so _close_ and so warm the detective snaps his eyes open almost immediately, feeling himself shiver at the other whispering his first name. Shuichi opens his mouth to respond when there’s more shifting next to him and suddenly warm lips on his own.

The other kisses him with such ferocity and greediness it throws the detective completely off guard, causing him to question all his senses and if he’d already fallen asleep after all. Still he moves to reciprocate the kiss tentatively which only causes Ouma-kun to tilt his face and for him to push his tongue inside the detective’s mouth mercilessly. The other tastes like the wine they’d just had, his mouth feeling so wet and hot the detective nearly loses himself in the whole sensation.

Shuichi faintly notices that Ouma-kun is currently straddling his lap which honestly alarms him a bit.

Why hadn’t he noticed? And why was the other-

His thoughts are interrupted rather quickly as the other moves to pull at Shuichi’s bottom lip with his teeth while grinding down on him, earning him a loud gasp from the detective.

“Ouma-kun wait what-“

That only seems to stir the other on as he begins moving his hand in the direction of Shuichi’s groin. 

The detective feels his eyes snap open in shock again at the realisation and he grabs the others wrist roughly before quickly turning on the lamp next to them.

“What the hell are you _doing_?”

His words leave him sounding so bitter it nearly startles himself. Instead it causes the waiter still seated on his lap to flinch and for his eyes to widen anxiously.

“I- I just-“

“You just what? You think just- just doing all that is _okay_?”

Ouma-kun begins opening and closing his mouth helplessly a few times before shutting it completely and slightly shaking his head. “I-I just thought-“

He eventually squeezes his eyes shut and takes a shuddering breath.

Immediately the alarm bells inside the detective’s head begin to go off and he adjusts his position in order to place both of his hands on the other’s forearms. “H-Hey are you okay?”

Ouma-kun proceeds to shake his head messily, a single tear slipping down his cheek, causing Shuichi to only grow more and more alarmed.

“I- I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m- I’m so confused and just,” he opens his eyes to gaze sadly at Shuichi, the sight so frighteningly foreign the detective can basically feel his heart break in two at the sight, “I’m trying to make things _right_ but don’t know how and I need time but I-I don’t have any a-and now I wrongly hurt you again and-“

“Hey slow down it’s okay, deep breaths okay?”

The detective begins moving his hands up and down his sides in a hopefully soothing manner while staring into yellow and violet eyes, both glistening from the tears threatening to overflow.

Ouma-kun just nods and heaves a few shaky breaths before raising his voice again. “I’m just s-so- I don’t know! a-and I feel bad too and then there’s you,” now he raises his eyes to look at the detective, “you care so much and I just don’t understand _why!_ I-I mean I kind of do but it’s just not fair, n-none of this is fair and I just don’t know what to do and I’msorryijust-“

The other breaks down into quiet sobs and the detective pulls the waiter close to his chest softly, embracing him to give the other some comfort. He feels so helpless and admittedly doesn’t know what to do or how to behave, meanwhile feeling guilty and ashamed for snapping at the other and not acting on his weird behaviour any sooner. While a part of Shuichi is still trying to dissect every little bit of what the other had just said his mind feels all muddy and he bitterly notices that Ouma-kun would’ve probably never embraced all those emotions if it weren’t for the amount of alcohol he’d consumed.

So they sit on his bed, Ouma-kun heavily leaning against Shuichi, his sobs slowly dwindling more and more until there’s only the sound of his even breathing left, filling the air between them. And Shuichi just keeps holding him, trying to make sense of any of this, for the second night in a row. Nothing was fine or anything remotely close to it, this whole thing only proving it to the detective again. He’s confused and doesn’t know what to do, merely talking to Ouma-kun likely wouldn’t lead anywhere and it _hurts,_ hurts to know there’s something wrong, something the person next to him which he cares about _so much_ keeps lying about and if he could he’d make everything alright-

The detective eventually just ends up turning off the light, carefully moving under the covers, trying not to wake the other while still holding Ouma-kun close to him. (Close but not close enough, a part of him never wants to let him go, never wants to see that utterly crushed expression on his pretty face.)

Shuichi just feels helpless but so tired as well and while there are probably a million questions currently running through his brain he’s just glad the other had finally calmed down and actually managed to fall asleep so easily, Ouma-kun probably needed it more than he would like to admit.

Shuichi knows they’ll have to talk about this eventually even though he admittedly doesn’t know _how_ and a part of him is _scared_ and close to being sure that the other will just brush him off, despite the fact that he’s so obviously hurting.

He ends up pressing a soft kiss to the waiter’s forehead, silently vowing to protect the petite figure close to him before slowly letting sleep indulge him as well.

(The broken and confused look on the other’s face still doesn’t manage to leave his mind though and Shuichi wonders if it ever will.)


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Ouma-kun you do realise that someone’s occupation doesn’t define the person itself right? It doesn’t always have to represent what they actually want to do or what they’re truly capable of doing.”
> 
> The other’s eyes widen for a split second at the statement before Ouma-kun’s face immediately pulls a blank and he averts his gaze. “Are you really sure someone’s occupation doesn’t define the person themself? Wouldn’t that be the same as saying one’s actions don’t define them either?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i feel like this is kind of bad help but it’s lowkey soft so that’s something right- *awkward chuckle*

Unsurprisingly absolutely nothing regarding last night had been mentioned. Shuichi woke up in an empty bed, confused as to why he’d woken up in the first place since his alarm wasn’t ringing when the smell of coffee had wafted through the air and thus caused the detective to actually gain enough willpower to heave himself out of bed.

Ouma-kun had greeted him in his kitchen, smiling at him and asking the detective why exactly he was the one looking way worse if he’d only had one glass of wine unlike the waiter himself. Shuichi had just proceeded to stutter something unintelligent, his brain still being half asleep which had only earned him a quiet laugh from the waiter before he’d wordlessly handed him a cup of coffee.

That was also precisely the moment Shuichi had started pondering over whether Kokichi actually made drinks as well instead of just serving them. The (maybe just?) waiter hadn’t seemed to notice Shuichi’s inner conflict though as he’d left the room shortly after in order to get dressed.

Shuichi’s now 75% awake brain also realised the other hadn’t been wearing his contacts yet and a blush at the thought had involuntarily made its way on his face (for whatever reason, it wasn’t anything special after all, right? Or maybe it was, he still doesn’t know in all honesty).  The rest of the morning had gone by uneventful with them getting ready to head outside, Ouma-kun’s shift apparently starting shortly after his own.

The waiter had actually accompanied him to his workplace before giving him a small kiss to the cheek, waving as he eventually walked away. Shuichi had only stared after him in a dumbfounded manner until Saito-san’s chuckle next to him had pulled him out of his weird trance.

And now here he was, recalling this morning’s events and cursing himself for not having mentioned anything regarding last night. Though it might’ve actually been incredibly stupid to do the actual thought of mentioning it hadn’t even crossed his mind. Ouma-kun had acted as if nothing had transpired and perhaps he simply couldn’t remember? Probably unlikely but still...

The detective just sighs and shakes his head. He really shouldn’t use his coffee break to ponder over the entire thing, god knows how it would affect his work.

Apparently it wouldn’t even get the chance to though as Shuichi sees Saito-san currently approaching his table with a smile on her face before dropping down on the free chair next to him.

“Hey Saihara-san, remember the thing I mentioned yesterday?”

The only thing he musters is an unintelligent “Huh?” which just makes him want to slap himself. His colleague merely chuckles before replying. “I’m guessing you don’t. But don’t worry about it, the only thing that matters is that you remember the witness report I sent to you.”

The mail she’d sent him? Right, that one...

“Uh yeah I do, there was nothing notable about it though was there?”

Saito-san just smiles at him. “At first it might seem like it, to be fair I thought so too. Nonetheless we asked the witness to describe the few people she did see and- wait a second let me get the footage.”

The detective gets up and Shuichi looks after her with a puzzled expression. What could possibly be that interesting?

It doesn’t take long for her to return though and before he knows it she’s setting a small laptop down on the table he’s sitting at, hitting play on the video of said witness.

The setting is nothing unusual, a middle aged woman with brown curly hair sitting on a black plastic chair behind a wooden table, a small microphone placed in front of her. Surprisingly she doesn’t seem nervous in the least though, rather quite the opposite.

Shuichi frowns but just keeps quiet and continues watching instead. The person behind the camera, which would be the same as the one currently sitting right next to him, gives some information regarding the entire case and current questioning while said woman just looks around curiously.  Eventually Saito-san asks the witness to list and describe every person she saw during the time period of the homicide which she does in a surprisingly eager manner.

“Well you see, I didn’t see a lot of people. Nothing unusual really considering that it’s the second floor and only the room with the surveillance cameras and others with supplies and equipment are on it. Nobody really walks around here except for some drunk guests or idiots that just simply got a bit lost or decided to ditch the elevator,” she chuckles a bit, “anyway I didn’t see more people than usual that day! I think I saw... five or six? 

“You see even though I work hard I obviously pay great attention to my surroundings! At first there was this boy, admittedly looked younger than 18 but who am I to judge? Anyway the poor thing looked a bit lost so I told him where to go. Next was this big guy with a ton of gold chains or something, had a pretty, dressed up doll with him too! I admittedly don’t know about the one that came after, appeared all of a sudden and was gone pretty quickly too so I can’t really say anything about them. If I had to guess I’d say they were male though.

“The longer I think about it... they wore all black too, kind of weird actually. Before I could ask them anything they vanished as I just said. And then later on there was this woman god you should’ve seen her heels-“

Saito-san pauses the video to raise an eyebrow at the detective sitting next to her. “Doesn’t that sound kind of suspicious? All dressed in black and they were gone that fast as well?”

Shuichi puts a hand to his chin. “It does but... there was nothing regarding that lead right? I mean, the video is from over a week ago or am I missing something?”

Saito-san just sighs dejectedly, opening her mouth to reply when the ringing from her desk cuts her off abruptly. She shoots Shuichi an apologetic smile as the detective stands up and shakes her head slightly. “I’m sorry Saihara-san I guess I have to get that one, you’re right though it didn’t lead us anywhere.”

She makes a move to take the laptop with her when Shuichi raises his voice. “Ah don’t worry about it! I’ll finish watching the questioning and then I’ll bring it to you.”

“Are you... sure?”

The detective just nods at her reassuringly and she smiles before rushing over to the other side of the room to pick up the phone before walking into the nearby room.

Shuichi just shakes his head, the least he could do was finish watching the video, right?

-

As expected the rest of the video just contained the cleaning lady rambling on about some brown haired woman’s heels. Her description had actually been so detailed even Shuichi could picture said shoes nearly picture perfectly at this point (bright pink with black lace at the top and small bows at the sides, oh and apparently they were like six inches too) honestly, if he didn’t know better he’d say she was probably jealous of that poor woman’s shoes.

Saito-san had proceeded to ask more questions in an attempt to elicit more information regarding the black clad figure which had just ended up being rather fruitless.  The video had finished playing around half an hour ago and Saito-san still hadn’t reappeared so Shuichi had resulted in closing the device, finishing his break by starting to work on some of his neglected paperwork (it admittedly was a rather huge pile).

As he keeps filling out said paperwork he spares a glance to the clock on the wall, asking himself if he’d be able to finish his work before it’s 6pm. Although... him and Ouma-kun hadn’t really made plans had they? They’d just continued to walk in the direction of Shuichi’s workplace, all the while not talking about anything vital. So what if the other didn’t actually want to go with Shuichi and stay at his-

_ The other mumbles something inaudible and Shuichi cranes his neck in order to understand. _

_ “-on’t want! It’s always sooo cold and and little Shu jus’ makes me saad cause evwyonesomeantothm.” _

_ The detective can feel his brows furrow in confusion, what the hell was the other talking about? _

_ “What are you talking about?” _

_ The waiter turns his head slightly to pout at him. “Saihara-chan is gonna send me hoome but I don’t want to because it’s always so cold and-“ _

_ “But Ouma-kun that’s not what-“ _

Shuichi nearly curses himself as he remembers yesterday’s conversation, of course Ouma-kun wouldn’t admit to his wish of staying at Shuichi’s apartment if it weren’t for the wine he’d consumed. But how could he ask the other to stay with him a bit longer? Surely mentioning he knew how Ouma-kun truly felt wouldn’t be the best idea...

Come to think of it, would this even be okay? It’s not like Shuichi minded the additional presence at home, in fact it was sort of... nice, he honestly thinks it might help him in getting closer to the other, perhaps even in ways of helping Ouma-kun (now that Shuichi knows how the waiter truly feels).

Additionally there’s so much more he wants to talk about, things he hasn’t mustered up the courage to yet and so he pulls out his phone and starts typing something faster than anticipated.

Suddenly he stops- would the waiter even receive his messages? He hadn’t mentioned it once since he’d returned nor had the detective seen him use said device so... maybe he’d actually broken it or something?

Sighing he slumps back into his chair and silently vows to use his next break to spare the other’s work another visit.

-

“Guess who it is! Mister detective actually sparing us another visit for once! What’ya doing here? Although let me guess,” Iruma-san twirls one of her hair strands in thought, “you’re probably here to check on your gremlin of a boyfriend!”

“I-I he- I wouldn’t ah s-say-“

“Great job whore now you broke him completely.”

Shuichi has probably never been so relieved to hear Ouma-kun’s familiar snicker before in his _entire life_ and he consequently nearly sighs in relief, already turning around to face said waiter.

His hair is pulled back in a little bun instead of the familiar ponytail this time, a few purple hair strands framing his face. The waiter’s violet eyes glitter in amusement, only matching the typical grin currently occupying his face. Shuichi knows he’s staring but the other just looks so pretty and so... content he can’t really bring himself to move or say anything.

Suddenly those violet eyes are on his own and he swears he sees them widen for a split second before they narrow in delight, Ouma-kun starting to laugh before skipping over to the detective in order to press a kiss to his lips. Shuichi moves his hand almost automatically to cup the other’s cheek when Ouma-kun pulls back rather abruptly, coughing slightly before taking a few steps back while pulling the detective along with him.

“Alright slut I’m gonna take my break now bye!”

“You-“

The waiter just starts to laugh again and continues to pull Shuichi along until they stop in front of the familiar wooden door leading to the break room. He untangles his arm rather swiftly and opens the door with a dramatic swing. “There we go!”

Shuichi just nods dumbly, stepping inside and turning around in order to flop down on one of the chairs unceremoniously. Ouma-kun moves over to him, pulling out one of the nearby chair before imitating the other’s action and sitting down as well. He places his chin on one of his hands and smiles at the detective before raising his voice.

“Soo what caused you to spend your precious break with me?”

Shuichi averts his gaze to stare at the floor. Alright, here goes nothing. “Well I was going to ask you regarding this afternoon, we ah didn’t really make plans? And I was going to text you but I wasn’t sure if you’d even receive it so I thought I’d just ask you in person.”

The other hums. “Yup makes sense, I actually broke my phone and then forgot it at a friend of mine so I don’t know when exactly I’ll retrieve it and all. And regarding this afternoon,” he leans a bit closer to Shuichi and raises an eyebrow in question, “what’s there to talk about?”

Shuichi should’ve expected it, he _had_ honestly expected it. Alright, now he needed an excuse for the other to stay over once more, the detective being sure that if he didn’t manage to supply one Ouma-kun would become suspicious and prod for answers and Shuichi _really_ didn’t need that conversation to happen right now.

“I thought you could come over again? We didn’t manage to finish the show we watched and I really wanted us to.”

Ouma-kun’s eyes widen in surprise momentarily. “Hm? Saihara-chan wants me to stay over once more?”

“I-If you want, though I really wanted to finish the show with you...”

That seems to do the trick as the waiter’s face relaxes before he grins at him. “If that’s what Saihara-chan wants... When are you going to be here then? 6pm?”

“Ah actually,” Shuichi averts his gaze and rubs his neck sheepishly, “I have to work a bit longer today so... would 7pm be okay too?”

Ouma-kun grins at him. “Sure! I’ll meet you in front of the shop then!”

-

Shuichi guesses the conversation from earlier had gone better than expected and the other admittedly hadn’t seemed suspicious of him either. To be honest he still doesn’t know how things are supposed to progress in future though, but he assumes they could talk about given topic as soon as they arrive at his place?

He kicks a small pile of leaves absentmindedly before checking his watch. 7:02pm. Shuichi spares the shop across from him another glance just as the doors burst open and Ouma-kun walks outside. He smiles immediately upon spotting Shuichi, already skipping over to him.  It’s only then that the detective notices the cups he’s holding and his eyes widen at the sight.

Noticing his stare almost immediately, Ouma-kun offers one of the cups to the detective while grinning at him.

Ouma-kun’s cheeks are slightly red and Shuichi can only assume that’s it’s not entirely due to the cold December air. He reciprocates the smile, taking the cup offered to him. “Thanks Ouma-kun, you really didn’t have to though...”

The waiter just rolls his eyes. “Whatever, it’s just tea by the way so don’t get your hopes up. I’m not making you more coffee, you already had some this morning.”

Shuichi blushes at the reminder and just ends up nodding to himself as they start walking.

Suddenly a thought hits him and makes him to come to a stop, causing the waiter to turn around while glancing at him with a questioning look on his face.

“Do you make drinks as well? In the shop and all?”

“Sometimes,” he skips over to him and hooks his free arm around the detective’s, already continuing to pull him along, “but that’s no reason for you to stop in the middle of the sidewalk silly! But back to your question, I do but only sometimes. Kiibo is rather the one making the drinks and all, I just end up helping him sometimes.”

“So you’re... more of a barista?”

“I guess,” he laughs and shakes his head slightly before peering up at the detective, “why does it matter?”

“A-Ah I was just asking.”

“ _Well,_ if you ask me things regarding my work I guess I’m entitled to do the same, right? Working as a detective must be so much more interesting than working as a barista after all!”

The slight self-depreciating tone in the other’s statement might’ve gone completely unnoticed, that is if Shuichi weren’t so hyper focused on Ouma-kun after last night’s... events. So he stops in his tracks once again, causing the smaller male next to him to do the same.

“Saihara-chan what did I just-“

“Ouma-kun you do realise that someone’s occupation doesn’t define the person itself right? It doesn’t always have to represent what they actually want to do or what they’re truly capable of doing.”

The other’s eyes widen for a split second at the statement before Ouma-kun’s face immediately pulls a blank and he averts his gaze. “Are you really sure someone’s occupation doesn’t define the person themself? Wouldn’t that be the same as saying one’s actions don’t define them either?”

“I wouldn’t say-“

The barista just shakes his head before trying to pull Shuichi along. “See? Just as i th-“

“Some people don’t have a choice and it’s not their fault that they end up in certain positions.”

Ouma-kun whirls around to stare at the other, his eyes open wide and his face mimicking one of shock. He opens his mouth to reply but only ends up closing it again, his face still portraying one of surprise.

Shuichi untangles himself from the other’s lose grasp before taking a step towards him, tentatively moving his hands in order to cup Ouma-kun’s face softly. The barista’s eyes widen a fraction as the detective continues stroking his thumb along the other’s slightly freckled cheekbone gently, all while staring into violet eyes, currently portraying entire disbelief and his eyelashes flutter closed as he leans down slowly.

Ouma-kun’s lips are still so soft it nearly catches him off guard and the other stills momentarily before basically melting into the detective’s touch.

He can’t help but notice that Ouma-kun faintly tastes of hot chocolate, his lips still so gentle and sweet the detective secretly wishes to just capture the moment and to never let it go. It’s so entirely different from the other’s almost desperate kiss from hours ago, nearly causing Shuichi to think the previous event had never even existed in the first place.

They eventually part, his eyes opening slowly to reveal the other’s face graced with a faint blush dusted along his cheeks. Shuichi laughs slightly at the other’s flustered state, only earning him a frown and a slight pout in return. And an additional slap to his arm which definitely hurts more than he’d like to admit.

“H-Hey! Don’t laugh at me you idiot!”

“Sorry sorry! You’re just,” he’s interrupted by another wave of laughter, “just adorable Ouma-kun.”

That causes the other to stutter around aimlessly before eventually giving up, turning around abruptly in order to walk on ahead, all while faintly reminding the detective of an upset toddler or an overreacting high school girl.

Shuichi just shakes his head before sprinting after the other. “I-I’m sorry, hey wait up!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also may i note that genshin has ruined my life and so have chongqiu <\3 they so cute we not ok...... also while i don’t have the next few chapters written (i’ve been lagging behind a LOT recently) i do have the entire story planned out in more detail so i’m very determined to finish this yES  
> ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀  
> edit: ah ya ironic how i said that n then didn’t update for two weeks help- motivation to write for this has just been rlly low lately n i don’t want to force myself n produce crap so :// yea but! i will finish this i promise, rn im just taking a small break to gain motivation that’s all :)


End file.
